Wednesday saw a significant increase in police presence on US college campuses following the forceful removal of several weeks’ worth of demonstrations against Israel’s war with Hamas.
Numerous police vehicles were on duty at the University of California, Los Angeles campus during the night, following violent altercations that broke out after pro-Palestinian protestors were attacked by counterprotesters.
After policemen marched onto campus late Tuesday to put an end to the protests there, police were on standby at Columbia University in New York City, which has been the focal point of the demonstrations.
Some students were horrified to see cops in helmets at two of the most famous universities in America.
“I don’t think we should have a heavy police force on campus,” UCLA student Mark Torre, 22, told AFP as he surveyed the scene from behind metal barriers.
“But more and more, day by day, I think it’s a necessary evil, to at least keep safety on campus.”
At Columbia and at the City University of New York, where police cleared demonstrators out overnight, some students decried “rough and aggressive” tactics used by officers.
“We were assaulted, brutally arrested. And I was held for up to six hours before being released, pretty banged up, got stomped on, got cut up,” one CUNY student who gave his name only as Jose told AFP.
A medical student offering treatment to student detainees as they were released described a litany of injuries.
“We’ve seen things like severe head traumas, concussions, someone was knocked unconscious in the encampment by police, someone was thrown down the stairs,” the student, who gave her name as Isabel, said.
According to Police Commissioner Edward Caban, there were about 300 arrests made at Columbia and CUNY on Wednesday.
Tensions were heightened, and Mayor Eric Adams blamed “outside agitators” for it. Columbia students have refuted reports that foreigners were engaged.
In response to criticism on her choice to summon police, university president Minouche Shafik stated on Wednesday that the development “filled me with deep sadness.”
“I am sorry we reached this point,” she said in a statement.
