Protests over the Israel-Gaza war have been spreading and intensifying at college campuses across the country over the past week. Students have been arrested at several schools, including the University of Southern California, Emerson College, Yale and Columbia University, during pro-Palestinian protests, and a growing number of encampments have been launched at campuses across the country.

The demonstrations have put more pressure on university leaders — from lawmakers, faculty, alumni and families concerned about antisemitism on campus, and from those who say some institutions have been too aggressive and are shutting down students’ rights to free expression.

When did pro-Palestinian student protests begin?

Activists have been supporting Palestinian rights for decades, but the Hamas attack of Oct. 7 and the Israel-Gaza war brought renewed urgency to the issue for many students. Over the past six months, student protests have intensified at various points, often flaring up after news from Gaza, such as Israel’s recent assault on a hospital.

What are college students protesting about?

In the wake of the Oct. 7 attack and the ensuing war, students have largely demonstrated in a show of solidarity with Palestinians displaced or killed in the conflict. Protesters, especially at wealthy schools such as Yale and Columbia, have also demanded that their university endowments divest from military weapons manufacturers and defense contractors with ties to Israel, as a show of support for Palestinians.

Where are the protests happening?

Protests have occurred at public and private colleges and universities across the country in recent months, with demonstrations breaking out at dozens of institutions in recent days.

How many students and faculty have been arrested so far?

While students have engaged in protests since the fall, tensions have flared in the past week as some students have occupied campus grounds and offices. Columbia students erected tents on April 17, just as the university president, Nemat “Minouche” Shafik, was testifying at a congressional hearing about Columbia’s handling of alleged antisemitism in the wake of the war.

The next day, Shafik called the New York Police Department to break up the encampment, leading to the arrests of more than 100 pro-Palestinian student protesters. Shafik said she “took this extraordinary step because these are extraordinary circumstances.” Within days, “Gaza solidarity encampments” sprang up on campuses in California, New York, Massachusetts and Michigan.

On Monday, police arrested 47 Yale students who had occupied campus grounds over the weekend, demanding that the Ivy League school divest from military arms makers. The students were released the same day. In another demonstration Monday evening, NYPD officers arrested students and faculty at New York University after school administrators requested their assistance in breaking up an encampment on school grounds.

Arrests have continued in the past two days, including more than 100 at Emerson College in Boston, more than 30 at the University of Texas at Austin and more than 90 at the University of Southern California. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R), who directed state troopers to take protesters into custody at UT-Austin, said also on social media that “students joining in hate-filled, antisemitic protests at any public college or university in Texas should be expelled.”

What might come next?

With the academic year ending in the coming weeks, the protests are likely to simmer down. Still, college administrators could face more scrutiny beyond their campuses. Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) said he wants President Biden to deploy the National Guard to protect Jewish students amid what he calls pro-Hamas campus protests. In a recent Passover greeting, the president condemned recent acts of “harassment and calls for violence against Jews.” He said, “This blatant Antisemitism is reprehensible and dangerous — and it has absolutely no place on college campuses, or anywhere in our country.”

Rep. Elise Stefanik and the rest of the House Republican delegation from New York sent a letter urging Shafik to resign over what they called her failure to “ensure students have a safe learning environment.”

The ongoing demonstrations also have some bracing for possible disruptions at upcoming commencement ceremonies.

Ellen Francis contributed to this report.