The anti-war protests at over 30 American universities are getting more and more heated.
According to the latest tally by The Associated Press, more than 2,300 people have been arrested nationwide as police are called to clear encampments. On Thursday alone, more than 200 people were arrested at a pro-Palestinian protest camp on UCLA's campus, after refusing to leave the area as requested.
Police intervention has sparked conflicts in some cases, leading to widespread dissatisfaction with the authorities' heavy-handed, sometimes violent, enforcement.
In a statement issued Wednesday, the Middle East Research and Information Project said the organization is "horrified and angered to learn of the assault and arrests," noting that "police violence against peaceful protesters on college campuses has become an alarming trend in the last two weeks."
"The campus protests began as a means of expressing opposition to the horrific war Israel is waging in Gaza and the exorbitant toll on Palestinian lives," the organization said. "We denounce police brutality and the militarization of campuses sanctioned by institutional leaders."
The AP called the student movement spreading across campuses nationwide, with tent encampments of protesters calling on universities to stop doing business with Israel or companies they say support the war in Gaza, "unlike any other this century." The protests have drawn pro-Israel counter-demonstrators in some instances, and tensions have boiled over to the point police have been forced to intervene.
President Joe Biden broke his silence on the escalating situation this week. He defended the students' right to protest but also condemned the disruption to campus life.
"There's the right to protest but not the right to cause chaos," he said. "Dissent is essential to democracy. But dissent must never lead to disorder or to denying the rights of others so students can finish the semester and their college education."
So, what's a school to do? University administrators are caught in the middle, tasked with protecting the free speech rights of protesters while also being responsible for keeping students safe and preventing disruptions for those not involved in the protests.
It's an "impossible situation," according to Time Magazine.
"Despite frequent litigation throughout the late 20th and early 21st centuries, U.S. courts have not provided a clearly defined line to mark when speech and protests cease to be peaceful and lose First Amendment protection," Time reported. "This blurriness has left university administrators in an impossible situation — one that won't change until the courts and politicians settle on which priority is more important: free speech or order on campus."