'One of the Most Consequential Student Uprisings'

Campus protests over the war in Gaza showed no sign of abating through the weekend:

• Arrests: The AP logs more than 200 arrests on Saturday alone at pro-Palestinian demonstrations at Northeastern University in Boston, Arizona State University, Indiana University, and Washington University in St. Louis. One notable arrest in St. Louis was that of Jill Stein, the Green Party candidate for president in 2024. The New York Times has a map with a thorough breakdown of where protests have occurred in recent weeks, with nearly 20 campuses on the list.
• Stepping back: The protests that began at Columbia have evolved into "what historians now call one of the most consequential student uprisings the nation has seen in recent times," the Washington Post reports. Its story examines how the movement has spread so effectively, with smartphones and social media allowing students at different campuses around the country to remain connected and sync their tactics.

• Colleges scramble: School administrators have used a wide range of responses as they walk the line between maintaining order and respecting free speech, and the New York Times looks at the challenges from this point of view. "They don't seem to have a clear strategy," Jennie Stephens, a professor at Northeastern, tells the newspaper. "I think there's this inclination to kind of control what's happening on campus, but then that's balanced with the optics—or the violence, or the real harm—done to students or faculty or staff or others if there are arrests."
• Demands: Generally, protesters want their schools to sever financial ties with Israel and to divest from weapons manufacturers or other companies they see as supportive of the war, per the AP. The Post story adds a counterpoint: "Experts say student requests for divestment are not only impractical but also are likely to yield little if any real benefit."
• Antisemitic confusion: One complicating factor is that Jewish students say the protests sometimes morph into antisemitism. This was illustrated at Northeastern in confusing manner: The university justified its use of police in part by citing a slur of "Kill the Jews." However, MassLive reports that the slur actually appeared to come from a pro-Israeli counter-protester as a "provocative joke." See this video. The school also asserted that "what began as a student demonstration two days ago, was infiltrated by professional organizers with no affiliation to Northeastern," though protesters disputed that.

(More Columbia stories.)