NEW HAVEN, Conn. — After nearly two weeks of protest at Yale University over the war in Gaza, campus officials are starting to tear the encampment down. Arrests have also started at the University of Connecticut (UConn).
Yale campus police confirmed Tuesday morning that facility crews had started to tear down the encampment and that protestors are not allowed back in to retrieve their belongings.
Students were also arrested at UConn. UConn's Muslim Student Association (MSA) went live on their Instagram page, showing several students being led away by authorities.
RELATED: Protesters take over Columbia University's Hamilton Hall in escalation of anti-war demonstrations
UConn issued a statement Tuesday morning following the detainment saying:
On April 26, UConn shared guidelines with protest organizers and the university community for larger outdoor gatherings, including items and behavior that are not permissible.
It noted: "Such gatherings are of course permitted. However, safety, health, and basic community standards need to be recognized and maintained, both in the interest of those who are gathering as well as other community members who may be impacted."
In the days that followed, some at the gathering violated those guidelines by erecting tents, which numbered about 20 by Monday afternoon, and continued to use amplified sound.
The group was warned multiple times over a period of days that while they were free to be in the space and exercise their free speech rights, the guidelines needed to be followed, and the tents needed to be taken down. This was ignored.
UConn police directed them four times on Tuesday morning to remove the tents and disperse, and they again repeatedly ignored the directives. Officers then entered the sire to remove the tents and tarps and to arrest those who refused compliance.
UConn said they will provide updated information on the number of those arrested and the charges they face later.
Yale also issued a short statement regarding the actions taken Tuesday morning:
Yale fully supports peaceful protests and freedom of speech; however, claiming control of our shared space is inconsistent with our principles and values. The university does not tolerate the violation of its longstanding policies on using on-campus outdoor spaces, postering and chalking, or the use of amplified sound.
The Connecticut chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations issued a statement on X, formerly known as Twitter, regarding the arrests at UConn.
The protest at Yale began on April 19, when students built a 27-tent "Books Not Bombs" encampment outside a Board of Trustees dinner. They occupied Beinecke Plaza while calling for weapons divestment. Last week, nearly 50 people were arrested as part of the demonstration.
Protestors at Yale joined a growing movement across the country, with several colleges and universities calling on their institutions to divest from military weapons manufacturers as Palestinians in Gaza face starvation and death from the Israeli military and government.
Last Thursday, around 300 students at UConn joined in on the protests, forming their own encampment to protest the school's "complicity in the genocide of Palestinians in Gaza and its shameful contributions to militarism around the world."
Yale and UConn join schools like Columbia University, University of Southern California, University of Texas at Austin, University of Utah, and many others. The number of arrests at campuses nationwide is approaching 1,000 as the final days of class wrap up. The outcry is forcing colleges to reckon with their financial ties to Israel, as well as their support for free speech. Some Jewish students say the protests have veered into antisemitism and made them afraid to set foot on campus.
Early Tuesday morning, students at Columbia in New York barricaded the entrances to Hamilton Hall and unfurled a Palestinian flag out of a window.
The student radio station, WKCR-FM, broadcast a play-by-play of the hall’s takeover – which occurred nearly 12 hours after Monday’s 2 p.m. deadline for the protesters to leave an encampment of around 120 tents or face suspension. Representatives for the university did not immediately respond to emails requesting comment early Tuesday but Public Safety said in a statement that members of the university community who can avoid coming to the Morningside campus Tuesday should do so, adding that essential personnel should report to work.
In the X post, protestors said they planned to remain at the hall until the university conceded to the CUAD's three demands: divestment, financial transparency and amnesty.
RELATED: Israel-Hamas war protesters and police clash on Texas campus, Columbia University begins suspensions
Administrators at the colleges and universities have tried to salvage their commencements and several have ordered the clearing of encampments in recent days. When those efforts have failed, officials threatened discipline, including suspension, and possible arrest.
But students dug in their heels at other high-profile universities, with standoffs continuing at Harvard, the University of Pennsylvania, Yale and others. Police in riot gear at Virginia Commonwealth University sought to break up an encampment there late Monday and clashed with protesters.
The Associated Press has contributed to this report.
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Jennifer Glatz is a digital content producer at FOX61 News. She can be reached at jglatz@fox61.com.
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