In pictures: Student-led protests echo Vietnam war times
Student-led pro-Palestinian protests spreading
Student-led protests against Israel’s military offense in Gaza have spread widely throughout American campuses and have already crossed borders.
Columbia University: the center of the movement
The movement began at New York City’s prestigious Columbia University and quickly spread to other Ivy League campuses such as Harvard, Yale and Brown.
Protests in at least other 40 American Universities
But they have also spread to many other universities: at least other 40, according to Al Jazeera, including MIT, UCLA, NYU, and UC Berkeley, among others.
Photo: encampment at NYU.
Protests in Paris, UK, Italy, Canada and Australia universities
Moreover, Pro-Palestinian student protests are also happening in Paris’ prestigious Science Po and Sorbonne, as well as in other reputable universities in the UK, Italy, Canada and Australia.
Photo: encampment at Science Po, Paris.
Inspiration from anti-war Vietnam protests
Before setting a protest encampment on a Columbia lawn last week, some students took an optional course called "Columbia 1968" about protests against the Vietnam War, Reuters reported.
Photo: Columbia students protesting the Vietnam war in 1968.
‘Liberated Zone’
A Palestinian-American student told Reuters that they did a sign that said ‘liberated zone’ after looking at a famous photograph of the 1968 Vietnam protests that said the same thing.
A protest designated area
But while the 1968 protesters occupied multiple buildings on campus, the 2024 protesters decided to occupy one lawn that school administrators recently designated for protests, so that they wouldn’t be accused of disruption.
Columbia’s president called the police
But this wasn’t the case at all, as Columbia President Minouche Shafik called in police, who arrested 108 of the students on trespassing charges, according to CNN.
More than a thousand arrests and police brutality
Moreover, more than a thousand students have been arrested across the United States, according to The Guardian, and several videos of police brutality have been emerging in social media.
Texas troopers have been particularly brutal
Particular violence is seen from Texas police at Texas University in Austin, where videos arised of one officer tasing a protestor and another arresting a teacher violently, hitting her head on the pavement, after she defended a student.
Many Jewish students leading pro-Palestinian protests
Joe Biden and Netanyahu have been quick to say the Pro-Palestinian protests are antisemitic but many Jewish students, who are actually leading the movement, have dismissed this claims through their group social media channels.
Pro-Israel counter-protests
Pro-Israel counter-protests have arised in some places though, such as in UCLA, with protestors that, in some cases, are not even students and just try to instigate violence, a video by journalist Constanza Eliana shows.
Four students were killed by police in Vietnam protests
But although the protests are no doubt being violently suppressed, it hasn’t reached the Vietnam era level, when police killed four students and injured many by shooting at them in Ohio Kent State University in 1970. The tragedy then, however, brought some victory with it.
Photo: National Guard opening fire on student protesters.
What did Vietnam student protests accomplish?
In 1968, anti-war Vietnam protests led Columbia University to end classified war research and stop military recruitment, among other changes, wrote Rosalind Rosenberg, a professor of history at Barnard College, for Barnard Magazine.
Photo: Colmbia 1968 graduate flashes a peace sign.
Student’s main demand: divest from Israel
Similarly, today's demonstrators also have specific demands, mainly involving divestment from Israel, citing the killing of more than 34,000 Palestinian people, more than half of which are women and children, according to Gaza Health authorities.
Columbia’s director said they will not divest
Columbia’s director however, recently published a statement saying that “Columbia will not divest from Israel”, saying that after “constructive dialogue” was held between academic leaders and students, no agreement was found. After this, some Columbia students barricaded in the Dean’s office.
An unstoppable student revolution
It seems that American students, rather than giving up or being discouraged by the authorities’ response, will probably resist. Just like in 1968, an unstoppable student-led revolution seems to be underway.
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