Louisiana State Police cleared out an encampment of anti-Israel protesters from Tulane University early Wednesday morning, making 14 arrests during the operation.
As with campuses across the country, protesters had occupied Tulane’s lawn for days ahead of the police action. Police first attempted to disperse the crowd at 3 a.m. local time. Many protesters remained seated and refused to leave, however, and police ultimately arrested eight women and six men, according to NOLA.com.
The encampment was cleared by 4:30 am.
Tulane University administrators and police held a press conference Wednesday morning after police cleared out the area. New Orleans Police Department Superintendent Anne Kirkpartrick said police waited two days before taking action.
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“We wanted people to be able to have voice and yet not create a violation of the law,” Kirkpatrick said. “This is protected property. We wanted to give them an opportunity to peacefully remove themselves and not violate the rights of others as well.”
The operation at Tulane occurred the same night that the New York City police cracked down on anti-Israel protesters who broke into and occupied a building on Columbia University’s campus.
Columbia had also made efforts to tolerate the protests for as long as possible, but administrators said they were left with “no choice” once protesters broke into Hamilton Hall.
Universities across the country are resorting to more direct measures to end student protests as major end-of-year events approach. Columbia has reaffirmed its commitment to hold commencement ceremonies despite the unrest. The event is scheduled for May 15.
Not all universities have been so confident, however. The University of Southern California canceled its main graduation ceremony last week.
Columbia had initially tried negotiating with student protesters, but the school’s president, Minouche Shafik, announced in a statement earlier this week that the talks had gone nowhere.
