Students Protest for Racial Justice, Free Speech at 4 Campuses

Clashes with Police Lead to Over 200 Arrests

Scenes of chaos erupted on several college campuses across the nation this week as student protesters demanding action on racial injustice and protection of free speech rights were met with forceful police responses, resulting in more than 200 arrests.

The wave of demonstrations began at Amherst College in Massachusetts on Monday when a group of over 500 students occupied the campus administrative building. They refused to leave until their list of demands were met, which included increasing minority hiring of faculty, requiring anti-racism training for all staff, and divesting the college’s endowment from private prisons.

“We have voiced our concerns through proper channels for years, but the administration has failed to take meaningful action,” said Jasmine Lewis, a senior and one of the protest organizers. “We will no longer allow our voices to be ignored on issues so critical to the Black and brown students on this campus.”

After giving the protesters until 5 pm to disperse, campus police moved in, using tear gas and pepper spray to forcibly remove the remaining students from the building. 67 students were arrested on charges ranging from trespassing to resisting arrest. Several were treated for injuries on site.

Video footage from the scene showed students being dragged and shoved to the ground by officers in riot gear. Amherst College President Carolyn Martin condemned the “unacceptable use of force” by campus police, but also said the protesters were sadly “left with no choice” after warnings to vacate were ignored.

Just a day later, a similar scenario played out at Vanderbilt University in Tennessee. Around 200 students took over the campus student center to denounce the university’s disciplinary action against a student editorial board that published an article critical of the school’s failure to increase racial diversity among new faculty hires.

“By punishing the press for doing their job, Vanderbilt is showing itself to be an enemy of free speech,” said student journalist Terrell Smith, who was among those protesting. “We demand the charges against our editors be dropped immediately.”

This protest also turned confrontational when the students refused to leave by the 8 pm deadline issued by administrators. Metro Nashville police arrived in riot gear and cleared the building using aggressive crowd control measures like rubber bullets and pepper balls.

Nashville’s district attorney was on campus the next day, promising a “full investigation” into whether police used excessive force. However, he stood by the arrests of 94 protesters on charges of inciting a riot and resisting arrest.

Meanwhile, two other campuses – UCLA and the University of Michigan – dealt with their own student uprisings centered on racial equity demands.

At UCLA on Wednesday, a rally for more resources and campus space dedicated to the Black student community turned into an occupation of Murphy Hall, which houses the college’s administrative offices. After refusing to leave by the stated deadline, 73 students were arrested by the Los Angeles Police Department for failing to disperse.

University officials said they tried to “facilitate the students’ rights to protest” but could not let Murphy Hall remain occupied due to disruptions to daily operations. However, student organizers accused the school of acting in “complete bad faith” by calling in outside police.

One day later at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor police clashed with hundreds of protesters on the school’s iconic Diag area during a rally calling for “revolutionizing” minority enrollment and course offerings to make the college a more equitable place.

What started as a peaceful protest devolved into chaos when protesters refused to clear the area despite dispersal orders from police. Video shared on social media showed officers using batons and firing tear gas and rubber bullets into the crowd.

Ann Arbor’s police chief vigorously defended his officers’ actions as “a necessary response to violence and escalating disorder by a segment of the protesters.” However, organizers of the “Rev Equity Now” protest accused police of unprovoked brutality and vowed to keep demonstrating.

In total, 63 people were arrested at Michigan and hit with a variety of charges from resisting arrest to assault.

As images and video footage of this week’s confrontations between students and police circulated online, it sparked outrage from civil liberties groups condemning what they called egregious violations of free speech rights on public college campuses.

“The harsh, militant-style responses from law enforcement against these student protesters were completely unacceptable,” said Jeffrey Lighthouse, president of the American Civil Liberties Union’s campus rights program. “Students have a constitutional right to protest peacefully without facing mass arrests, tear gas and rubber bullets.”

Lighthouse said his organization is exploring potential lawsuits against the universities and police departments involved for violating the First Amendment rights of those arrested while exercising their free speech.

Meanwhile, the student organizers behind the crushed protests vowed their movements would only grow stronger despite the arrests and forceful tactics used to shut them down.

“Our schools preach about being bastions of free thought, but when we actually try to practice those free speech ideals while demanding change, this is how we are treated,” Lewis, the Amherst College protest organizer, told reporters.

“If administrations refuse to engage with us through dialogue, we have no choice but to escalate our demonstrations. And if they meet us with brutality, we will not be intimidated,” she said. “This fight is only just beginning.”

The university leaders caught in the firestorm had vastly different reactions, with some condemning the heavy-handed police tactics while others staunchly defended the decision to shut down the disruptive protests.

Carolyn Martin, president of Amherst College, acknowledged she was “saddened” by how events unfolded with police using tear gas on students. While not excusing the demonstrators for occupying a campus building illegally, Martin said the response by officers “appeared to be disproportionate.”

Officials at UCLA and the University of Michigan remained largely silent amid the backlash, with no statements from their presidents addressing the controversies on their campuses as of Friday.

In contrast, Vanderbilt Chancellor Beverly Bowman squarely blamed the students for creating a “dangerous situation that forced our hand.” She praised university police and Metro Nashville officers for acting “with great restraint” to restore order on campus.

As tear gas and pepper spray hung in the air this week, the scenes from college quads nationwide seemed to mark an escalating clash between emboldened activist movements and school administrators drawing an increasingly rigid line against more confrontational forms of student protest.

Both sides showed no signs of backing down, all but ensuring more conflicts loomed in this new era of campus unrest.