Pro-Palestinian encampments on the campuses of Chicago universities haven’t faced the same levels of violence and police response as others across the country — and students fearing escalation are hoping it stays that way.
Tensions were higher Tuesday after Columbia University ordered its campus to lock down and directed hundreds of New York police officers to raid a university building that student protesters had occupied. NYPD also showed a large late-night presence at the City College of New York. Officials said about 300 people were arrested between the two campuses.
And overnight, reports emerged of pro-Israel counterprotesters attacking a UCLA student encampment for hours, at times shooting fireworks into the camp and setting off confrontations between the groups. UCLA canceled classes Wednesday.
The camps in Chicago have not been targeted by heavy counterprotests or been subject to large police activity.
The protests at Northwestern University have de-escalated after an agreement between student organizers and the university administration to take down all but one aid tent while allowing demonstrations to continue until June 1, the last day of classes. The university initially sent in police to break up the encampment, and officers were seen pushing through lines of faculty and students to take down tents. But no arrests, citations or suspensions were made.
Students supporting a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war stand together at Northwestern University’s Deering Meadow.
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Students set up a tent encampment in Deering Meadow. On Thursday, the university amended the student code of conduct to prohibit tents.
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A bicyclist carries a Palestinian flag.
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“Divest from death, invest in life” and “NU = hedge fund,” were among the chants heard Thursday.
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“Northwestern is committed to the principles of freedom of expression and peaceful assembly — and to protecting the safety of all members of our community, as well as limiting disruptions to university operations,” the university said in a statement Thursday morning.
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Bystanders observe protesters.
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A sign reading “Free Gaza liberated zone” hangs on a fence at Deering Meadow.
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Nearly 200 people were participating in the protest in Deering Meadow by Thursday evening.
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A protester with a sign. “Once we heard that they were going to be doing this encampment, we wanted to be here as a presence to help protect them and support them,” said Steven Thrasher, an assistant professor at Northwestern’s Medill School of Journalism.
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A protester holds a sign that reads “Jews call 4 divestment.” A leader of campus Hillel said some of the rhetoric used at the protest was antisemitic.
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Protests continued at Emerson College in Boston, USC in Los Angeles and Columbia in New York. Some protests grew violent, with police beating and arresting demonstrators.
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The University of Southern California canceled its main stage graduation ceremony under new safety measures being taken as the campus is roiled by protests stemming from the Israel-Hamas war.
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A cordon of students confronts school personnel at Northwestern.
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Matthew Weiss, a senior at Northwestern, said he and the other counter-protesters showed up because of the “egregious” demonstration, adding that he was harassed on his way to the protest while carrying an Israeli flag and wearing a kippah.
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Protesters demanded that Northwestern “protect student civil liberties and safety, end partnerships that legitimize genocide and occupation, and disclose and divest from war and apartheid,” according to a press release by Northwestern University Educators for Justice in Palestine, Jewish Voice for Peace and Student Liberation Union.
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A woman speaks to protesters as a police officer stands by.
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Protesters demand a cease-fire in the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.
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Demonstrations at Northwestern were mostly peaceful.
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A protester bikes with a Palestinian flag.
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Students stand together to call for a cease-fire and divestment.
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University police officers monitor protesters.
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Students place photos of people killed in Gaza along a fence.
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Steven Thrasher, an assistant professor of journalism at Northwestern University, joined the protest.
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Protesters cluster on Deering Meadow.
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A protester holds a Palestinian flag.
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Protesters dance at Northwestern University.
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A Palestinian flag flies outside a tent encampment at Deering Meadow.
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Protesters dance.
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Protesters Sully S. (left) and Eden M. speak to reporters at Northwestern University’s Deering Meadow.
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At the University of Chicago, Rayna A., a senior who helped organize the encampment there, said UChicago police have always maintained a heavy presence on campus, so students know they have to protect themselves.
“As organizers, we have learned the skills that are necessary in order to keep our community safe from the police, and that we’ll have numbers in people and we have a strong community support,” said Rayna, who asked for her last name not to be published out of fear of harassment.
“We’re very interconnected with orgs across the city,” she said. “We’re hoping to just grow and expand and create … a space that is as safe as it can be. Because safety is never guaranteed.”
Sammy, an undergraduate UChicago student who also helped organize the protest, said there haven’t been threats against their camp, but “it’s hard not to feel this larger looming presence, this sort of constant background threat.
“Especially when things are happening like what happened yesterday at Columbia, which was horrific, and UCLA,” said Sammy, who also didn’t want to be fully identified for fear of harassment.
Organizers developed a safety plan, including deploying marshals who have de-escalation training and barriers to shield praying students from photos. Officers have been at the encampment all three days but haven’t interfered, students said.
“We are all here with the knowledge that whatever repression we face, it is absolutely nothing compared to what Palestinians have faced for the past 75 years and counting,” Sammy said. “Especially Palestinians at universities. Every single university in Gaza has been leveled at this point.”
Student protesters set up a pro-Palestine protest camp on the University of Chicago Main Quadrangle on Monday.
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Jim Vondruska/For the Sun-Times
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Student protesters set up a pro-Palestine protest camp on the University of Chicago Main Quadrangle on Monday.
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Jim Vondruska/For the Sun-Times
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Student protesters set up a pro-Palestinian protest camp on the University of Chicago Main Quadrangle on Monday.
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Jim Vondruska/For the Sun-Times
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Student protesters set up a pro-Palestinian camp on the University of Chicago Main Quadrangle on Monday.
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Jim Vondruska/For the Sun-Times
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Student protesters set up a pro-Palestinian protest camp on the University of Chicago Main Quadrangle on Monday.
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Jim Vondruska/For the Sun-Times
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Student protesters set up a pro-Palestinian camp on the University of Chicago Main Quadrangle on Monday.
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Jim Vondruska/For the Sun-Times
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Student protesters set up a pro-Palestinian camp on the University of Chicago Main Quadrangle on Monday.
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Jim Vondruska/For the Sun-Times
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Student protesters set up a pro-Palestinian camp on the University of Chicago Main Quadrangle on Monday.
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Jim Vondruska/For the Sun-Times
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Student protesters set up a pro-Palestinian camp on the University of Chicago Main Quadrangle on Monday.
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Jim Vondruska/For the Sun-Times
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Student protesters set up a pro-Palestinian protest camp on the University of Chicago Main Quadrangle on Monday.
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Jim Vondruska/For the Sun-Times
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Student protesters set up a pro-Palestinian camp on the University of Chicago Main Quadrangle on Monday.
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Jim Vondruska/For the Sun-Times
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Student protesters set up a pro-Palestinian protest camp on the University of Chicago Main Quadrangle on Monday.
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Jim Vondruska/For the Sun-Times
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Student protesters set up pro-Palestinian camp on the University of Chicago Main Quadrangle on Monday.
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Jim Vondruska/For the Sun-Times
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Student protesters set up a pro-Palestinian protest camp on the University of Chicago Main Quadrangle on Monday.
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Jim Vondruska/For the Sun-Times
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Student protesters set up a pro-Palestinian camp on the University of Chicago Main Quadrangle on Monday.
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Jim Vondruska/For the Sun-Times
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Chicago Police Supt. Larry Snelling said this week that he was not interested in breaking up the encampments.
“We’re out there to make sure that people who want to protest can do it and exercise their First Amendment,” Snelling said at a public meeting on the Northwest Side, according to Fox 32.
“If you notice with our universities here, people are protesting peacefully. … We’re not engaging them in a way that’s going to inflame what it is they’re trying to do,” he said.
DePaul University student Shoshana Rubin, 21, said she was worried and hesitant to stay overnight at the encampment after seeing reports of police at other campuses but has felt safe for the most part.
“Administration has mostly been OK with us staying out here, and I do worry that their position on that will change, but so far it’s been pretty peaceful,” Rubin said. “We’re learning a lot by being here. It’s been fun, and we feel like a community.”
Another DePaul student, 21-year-old Macey Caron, said her “biggest worry is police or counterprotesters showing up.
“But everything has been pretty calm,” Caron said. “And I hope it stays that way.”
Students chant and rally in support of Palestinians as they set up an encampment Tuesday in The Quad at DePaul University on the North Side, joining campuses across the country expressing support for the people of Gaza and demanding their schools cut financial ties with Israel.
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“DePaul Disclose Divest” is written in sidewalk chalk as students set up an encampment Tuesday in The Quad at DePaul University on the North Side, joining campuses across the country expressing support for the people of Gaza and demanding their schools cut financial ties with Israel.
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Students set up an encampment Tuesday in The Quad at DePaul University on the North Side, joining campuses across the country expressing support for the people of Gaza and demanding their schools cut financial ties with Israel.
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Students chant and rally in support of Palestinians as they set up an encampment Tuesday in The Quad at DePaul University on the North Side, joining campuses across the country expressing support for the people of Gaza and demanding their schools cut financial ties with Israel.
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Students set up an encampment Tuesday in The Quad at DePaul University on the North Side, joining campuses across the country expressing support for the people of Gaza and demanding their schools cut financial ties with Israel.
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Students set up an encampment Tuesday in The Quad at DePaul University on the North Side, joining campuses across the country expressing support for the people of Gaza and demanding their schools cut financial ties with Israel.
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(From left) Sophomore Henna Ayesh and alumni Nour Odeh chat with a reporter as students set up an encampment Tuesday in The Quad at DePaul University on the North Side, joining campuses across the country expressing support for the people of Gaza and demanding their schools cut financial ties with Israel.
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Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times
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Students set up an encampment Tuesday in The Quad at DePaul University on the North Side, joining campuses across the country expressing support for the people of Gaza and demanding their schools cut financial ties with Israel.
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Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times
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“Viva Palestina” is written in sidewalk chalk as students set up an encampment Tuesday in The Quad at DePaul University on the North Side, joining campuses across the country expressing support for the people of Gaza and demanding their schools cut financial ties with Israel.
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Students carry in donated food and water as they set up an encampment Tuesday in The Quad at DePaul University on the North Side, joining campuses across the country expressing support for the people of Gaza and demanding their schools cut financial ties with Israel.
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Students set up an encampment Tuesday in The Quad at DePaul University on the North Side, joining campuses across the country expressing support for the people of Gaza and demanding their schools cut financial ties with Israel.
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Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times
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Students set up an encampment Tuesday in The Quad at DePaul University on the North Side, joining campuses across the country expressing support for the people of Gaza and demanding their schools cut financial ties with Israel.
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Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times
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Students set up an encampment Tuesday in The Quad at DePaul University on the North Side, joining campuses across the country expressing support for the people of Gaza and demanding their schools cut financial ties with Israel.
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Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times
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Students play volleyball as they set up an encampment Tuesday in The Quad at DePaul University on the North Side, joining campuses across the country expressing support for the people of Gaza and demanding their schools cut financial ties with Israel.
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Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times
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Students set up an encampment Tuesday in The Quad at DePaul University on the North Side, joining campuses across the country expressing support for the people of Gaza and demanding their schools cut financial ties with Israel.
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Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times
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Students set up an encampment Tuesday in The Quad at DePaul University on the North Side, joining campuses across the country expressing support for the people of Gaza and demanding their schools cut financial ties with Israel.
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Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times
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More Israel-Hamas War coverage
The encampment at the Lincoln Park campus had been been in place since April 30. The action came after school officials said they had reached an impasse with the protesters.
Students and faculty walked out of class to gather at the pro-Palestinian encampment and call for divestment from companies doing business with Israel.
Northwestern University President Michael Schill is expected to be grilled by lawmakers next week about his decision to negotiate with students.
The cancellation of the end-of-school-year music festival comes days after the university said it has reached a stalemate in negotiations with organizers of a pro-Palestinian encampment.
On Tuesday, Chicago’s Jewish community celebrated Israel declaring its independence 76 years ago, on May 14, 1948. Pro-Palestinian demonstrators gathered across the plaza. There were a few altercations, but no arrests were made.
The flags, along with signs and banners, had been placed on Deering Meadow, where a pro-Palestine encampment stood for five days before organizers reached an agreement with university administration.
Protesters’ demands have focused on divestment — demanding universities cut ties with Israel and businesses supporting the war in Gaza.
The Israel-Hamas war is heightening fears of unrest, but convention leaders say they’re confident in their partnerships with Mayor Brandon Johnson, Chicago Police Supt. Larry Snelling and the U.S. Secret Service.
In a press conference at the school Thursday morning, students criticized university president Paul Alivisatos and shared their experiences when police began emptying the encampment early Tuesday.
Rafah has become the most recent focus of Israel’s military, which describes it as Hamas’ last holdout. Chicago-based Dr. John Kahler has seen conditions deteriorate as Gazan refugees fled south to the city.
En la madrugada del martes, agentes del campus rodearon el patio principal de la universidad y les impidieron la entrada a los estudiantes, según informaron desde el lugar de los hechos.
One protester said they were hit by an officer and taken to Thorek Memorial Hospital for treatment, according to a complaint filed with the Civilian Office of Police Accountability.
Reality on the ground is different from what policymakers understand in war rooms, far from the constant sound of bombs and drones, a Chicago-area doctor who has volunteered in Gaza writes. Thaer Ahmad, a Palestinian American, walked out of a meeting with President Joe Biden about a month ago and is calling for a cease-fire in Gaza.
After Oct. 7, chairs with the photos of hostages seized in Israel by Hamas were placed outside Am Shalom synagogue in Glencoe, waiting for the hostages’ release. “Our 248 chairs will stay up as long as they have to,” Am Shalom’s senior rabbi writes.
The group the People’s Art Institute accused law enforcement of yanking people’s hair, strangling them, and hitting people with batons and metal fences at the Saturday protest.
Around daybreak Tuesday, campus officers surrounded the university’s main quadrangle and kept students from entering, according to reports from the scene.
Según los informes, en el campus de Lincoln Park de DePaul los contra manifestantes intentaron enfrentarse a los manifestantes, pero los pro palestinos utilizaron tácticas de desescalada para mantener la paz. En todo el país se ha detenido a más de 2,500 manifestantes desde el 18 de abril.
The University of Chicago Faculty for Justice in Palestine on Monday reaffirmed support for the “peaceful, welcoming and educational space” students had created and called on school leadership to return to “good-faith” negotiations.
An official familiar with Israeli thinking says Israeli officials are examining the cease-fire proposal approved by Hamas. But the official warns that the plan “is not the framework Israel proposed.”
Counterprotesters at DePaul’s Lincoln Park campus reportedly tried to clash with pro-Palestinian protesters. Nationwide, more than 2,500 protesters have been arrested since April 18.
Police said the museum asked them to clear the encampment on Saturday, hours after organizers set up tents in the Art Institute’s North Garden which they said were intended to pressure the school regarding the “occupation of Palestine.”
On a mostly peaceful day, tensions briefly bubbled over when counter-protesters confronted the demonstrators at the university’s Edward Levi Hall. An altercation prompted campus police to respond.
Las protestas contra la guerra han invadido los campus universitarios en las últimas semanas. Los estudiantes apoyan a los palestinos en los ataques de Israel contra Gaza, denuncian lo que llaman censura por parte de sus universidades y piden a las instituciones que dejen de invertir en fabricantes de armas y empresas que apoyan a Israel.
Classes disrupted, fellow students threatened, clashes with police, and the yo-yo story has to wait.
The backlash comes days after the university made an agreement with encampment organizers to take steps toward divesting from Israel.
“I remember coming out of my apartment one day and spotting Chicago cops dragging young protesters out of one section of Lincoln Park and shoving them into trucks, while nearby poet Allen Ginsberg was chanting in a circle of peaceful protesters not far away from the radical Abby Hoffman,” remembers Dan Webb, who later became a U.S. attorney.
El campus se une a las protestas en todo el país para pedir a las universidades que dejen de invertir en empresas que apoyan a Israel.
Anti-war protests have swept college campuses in recent weeks as students support Palestinians in Israel’s attacks on Gaza, decry what they call censorship from their universities and call on institutions to divest from weapons manufacturers and companies supporting Israel.
They are willing to risk the completion of degrees or acquiring police records as allies of suffering civilians in Gaza, a reader from Hyde Park says.
The campus joins protests across the country calling on universities to divest from companies supporting Israel.
