Kent State Victim’s Sister Condemns Militarized Response To Pro-Palestinian College Protests

Laurel Krause, the sister of an anti-war protester who was killed by law enforcement during the infamous 1970 Kent State University massacre, this week warned against the militarized police response to peaceful college campus demonstrations over Israel’s military offensive in Gaza.

Inspired by Columbia University, whose students set up a “Gaza Solidarity Encampment” on campus while protesting the more than 200 days of war, a growing number of college students across the country are holding similar demonstrations at their schools. Participating students and organizers have said that the demonstrations are meant to center Israel’s ongoing violence against Palestinians, to call for a permanent cease-fire and to demand that colleges divest from Israel.

But despite footage showing students of various races, ethnicities and religions — including Jewish students — participating peacefully in the protests, right-wing politicians and media figures have accused demonstrators of antisemitism and called for them to be met with a militarized police response.

Last week, Columbia University President Nemat “Minouche” Shafik authorized New York police to sweep the college’s encampment, leading to the arrests of more than 100 people. Since then, witnesses at other campus demonstrations have reported seeing law enforcement — some in riot gear — interacting aggressively with protesters, tearing down encampments and arresting demonstrators.

“As the family member of a peaceful student protester killed by the state, I am aghast at the way that Columbia University President Minouche Shafik, along with administrators at other U.S. institutions of higher education, have endangered the lives and well-being of student protesters by inviting