New Orleans, LA (KPEL News) - Protesters are gathering on college campuses around the country over the Israel-Hamas war, and those demonstrations have reached Louisiana. Supporters on both sides of the issue have shown up at universities, and not all of them are peaceful.

Protesters have clashed with police in several cities, and dozens of people were arrested on Monday alone in Texas, Utah, Virginia, and New Jersey. Prior to that, contentious encounters between students and law enforcement in Ohio, Georgia, and at Columbia led to not only arrests, but a limitation of campus access to nonresident students. Reports indicate that protests at some campuses got hostile, with students pushing their way into building and breaking windows.

In Louisiana, tempers flared on the campus of Tulane University of New Orleans where demonstrators from both camps showed up to voice their discontent. Louisiana State Police and New Orleans Police officers stepped in when a group of protesters attempted to create and encampment. WWL TV reported Monday night that the situation had cooled, but shared video from earlier in the day as police tried to prevent protesters from setting up camp.

NBC News reported that, as of today (4/30), there are nearly 50 encampments on college campuses nationwide.

Scenes like this are becoming more common as the war rages on between Israel and Palestinians in Gaza. Students on one side are angry over what they believe is inhumane treatment of the people living in the Gaza Strip. Jewish students are standing up in support of Israel, and anti-Semitic sentiments are growing against them on several campuses. Protesters have gone as far as denying Jewish students the ability to move through campus or attend class.

The First Amendment provides Americans with the right to peaceably assemble, but dozens of the protests have gotten ugly. At one Emory University, a Georgia state trooper physically hauled one protester away after he refused to leave.

On Tulane's campus, demonstrators were upset when mounted patrols entered the area where they were set up. At one point, according to the report, protesters linked arms to create a human barrier.

On another Louisiana campus, a smaller group of students gathered in front of LSU's student union for a "die in" in support of Palestinians and to request that the administration cut ties with any companies that support Israel. Their protest remained peaceful.

Pro Palestine Protesters in Downtown Casper

29 November 2023

Gallery Credit: Kolby Fedore, Townsquare Media

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