Protests In Support Of Palestinians Are Spreading Far Beyond Coastal Universities

While all eyes in the nation are fixed on the police response to pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia University and the University of California, Los Angeles, this week, demonstrations are spreading beyond the Ivy Leagues and universities on the East and West coasts.

Students at several colleges and universities in the Midwest have orchestrated pro-Palestinian demonstrations, including encampments and protests, joining students at numerous schools across the country in calling for divestments from companies that do business with Israel. Part of their demands include increased transparency about university ties to Israel and a public denouncement of Israel’s attacks on Gaza as a genocide.

On Oct. 7, the militant group Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel in which 1,200 Israelis were killed and about 240 people were taken hostage. In retaliation, Israel has repeatedly launched strikes on the Gaza Strip, resulting in more than 30,000 deaths so far, the displacement of nearly the entire population and a growing famine. The deaths of tens of thousands of Palestinians at the hands of the Israeli military have prompted a mobilization of college students across the U.S. and the world.

Protests at Ivy League schools and larger institutions in major cities have been met with forceful pushback from university officials, many of whom have called in law enforcement to crack down on the demonstrations.

Meanwhile, pro-Palestinian rallies at many universities in the Midwest have been able to continue without much police escalation or incidents.

On Wednesday, hundreds of demonstrators, including faculty and students, gathered on Ohio State University’s campus for a protest in which they chanted, prayed and waved Palestine