Students don overtake plenty college campuses across United States as dem dey protest against di war for Gaza.
Hundreds of demonstrators don chop arrests as universities dey struggle to deal wit encampments on college grounds, just few days before graduation ceremonies.
Hundreds of students for universities wey dey America don chop arrest sake of dia protest for different campuses.
Di universities don record a growing number of students wey dey waka comot class and some dey set up camps as a form of protest sake of wetin dem call di Israel military campaign for Gaza.
Dia protest dey connected to di Israel war against Hamas for Gaza and dem also dey condemn industries wey dey support di war wit weapons.
Di war bin start wen Hamas and dia gunmen carry out attack for Israel on 7 October, killing about 1,200 pipo wey be say na civilians plenti pass. Dem come take about 253 back to Gaza as hostages.
Meanwhile, Hamas health ministry say dem don kill more dan 34,305 pipo for di war and many of dem na children and women.
Wetin dey happun for Columbia University?
Earlier dis month, as Columbia president Minouche Shafikdey testify for Congress about antisemitism on campus, hundreds of students arrange tents for di New York City campus.
Dem dey demand ceasefire for Gaza and ask di university leaders to comot hand from Israel.
Di university say di protest dey against di school policies and say dem don call di city police department to break up and clear di protest.
Di student activists don regroup since den and di protests don now enta three weeks.
Classes inside campus don stop, now, na only online classes dey happun.
Negotiations wit student organisers scata and some of di protesters don chop suspension.
On Tuesday, di protest enta anoda gear as students take over one university university building, Hamilton Hall.
Wetin di protesters want?
Since di 7 October attack by Hamas and Israel revenge attack, university students across United State don launch rallies, sit-ins, hunger strikes, and most recently, encampments against di war.
In response, police for many US states dey arrest hundreds of dem. But wetin dem really want?
Di student protesters say dem want make dia universities to divest from Israel.
To divest mean to sell all dia stock wey dey for Israeli companies or otherwise to cease any kain of financial connections.
Student activists say companies wey dey do business for Israel or wit Israeli organisations no send di fighting wey dey happun for Gaza. And na di same tin too wit colleges wey invest for dis companies.
University endowments na im dey pay for evertin from research labs to scholarship funds. E dey mostly use profits from millions – and billions – of dollars investments.
“Our university dey involved for dis kain violence, and na why we dey protest,” Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine bin write for X.
Many of di protesters wey set up camps in solidarity of di protest no gree comot di place even as di university authorities continue to call police on dem.
From California to New York, different demonstrations dey go on and di police make arrests of about 108 pipo wey dem don carry enta police custody for Boston.
Di protesters dey tok say dia free speech dey silenced as some reports say hostility dey for di protest.
Which universities dey affected wit di protest?
- For Atlanta, several dozen protesters wey no “dey affiliated” with Emory University set up tents for campus early Thursday morning, di school tok inside statement.
- Administrators say di group of trespassers bin later dey joined by members of the university community. But when the protesters refused to go, Emory Police Department “take some people into custody”.
- Emerson College, Boston – Di university bin warn make di protesters comot but dem no gree and about 108 pipo bin chop arrest.
- University of Southern California’s Alumni Park – Police bin face di protesting students for dem to comot di camp wey dem don build and dem arrest plenti pipo.
- University of Texas, Austin – Na ova 30 pipo bin chop arrest from police earlier on as di police use bikes and oda equipment to chase di students back.
- Columbia University, New York – Di protests bin begin from Columbia University, wia dem bin initially arrest more dan 100 pipo last week.
- Harvard University, Boston – Di protesters bin make camp for di university and dey say dem no go comot until goment meet dia demands.
- Di California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt campus– Dem bin close dis campus as di protesters occupy about two buildings while work and classes bin dey happun online.
- For Washington, protest camps bin dey set up for Georgetown University and George Washington University (GW) and American University.
- Protests also reach places like Yale, MIT, Brown, Stanford and Johns Hopkins Universities.
Wetin universities don do about am?
Some universities dey negotiate wit student activists while odas dey give ultimatums wey make dem call police.
Di latest round of arrests on Monday na for Texas, Utah and Virginia.
But for Boston, dem reach agreement between Northwestern University and protesters wey limit di size of encampment.
National politicians don call on colleges to do more, as dem highlight allegations of antisemitism for some of di protests.
Jewish students for some campuses tell BBC about incidents wey make dem feel uncomfortable or fearful.
Dem range from chants and signs supporting Hamas, wey dem proscribe as terror group, to physical confrontations and perceived threats.
Protesting don work?
Pro-Palestinian campus groups for years now don dey call dia schools to support di Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement, as way of pushing back against Israel.
No US university don ever commit to di BDS framework, although some don cut specific financial ties before.
While divestment fit get small impact, if any, on di war for Gaza, protesters say e go torchlight di pipo wey dey profit from war and help build awareness of dia issue.
Why students bring back memories of Vietnam war
As di protest dey go on, some pipo say e remind dem of di 1960s wen different demonstrations against di Vietnam War bin rock parts of di kontri.
For some observers, di protests for Columbia and oda US college campuses remind of di 1960s, wen demonstrations against di Vietnam War happun across di kontri.
One ogbonge professor of literature Marianne Hirsch say di Gaza war dey make am difficult to do business.
Di ogbonge professor bin participate for di Vietnam War wey happun from 1955 to 1975. Im tok say ‘pipo dey feel say di Gaza war dey unbearable and dem need to act.’
Anoda ogbonge pesin wey witness di Vietnam War and also witness how dem arrest plenti pipo for Columbia dat time, Oren Root, tell BBC say even as similarities dey for di Gaza war and Vietnam war, “di world dey different now. Di internet and social media na big factor,” Oren tok.
Im add say di internet dey help spread false narratives ontop di protest and e dey very unfortunate.
Na plenti military officers and civilians wey reach millions bin die for di Vietnam War.
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