Protests Erupt on Multiple Campuses Over Palestinian Rights

SEATTLE, Washington — Police arrested about 30 student activists Monday night after they occupied the Interdisciplinary Engineering Building at the University of Washington. The group, Students United for Equality and Return of Palestinians, demanded that student tuition and research funds not be used to support what they described as genocide in Gaza.

In Pennsylvania, nine individuals were arrested violently Saturday at Swarthmore College as police dismantled a solidarity camp for Gaza, called the ‘Liberated Zone of Hossam Shabat,’ named after a 23-year-old Palestinian journalist killed by Israeli forces in March. Protesters at Swarthmore are calling for the school to stop investing in companies benefiting from Israeli aggression and to declare itself a sanctuary campus for immigrant members of its community.

On the same day in New York, dozens of faculty and staff at Columbia University marched in black to advocate for the release of Mahmoud Khalil, a recent graduate forcibly taken by immigration agents, along with others pursued for advocating Palestinian rights. Vigils were also held at Tufts and Georgetown University, where student Rümeysa Öztürk and academic Badar Khan Suri were recently arrested by U.S. Immigration officials.

“We are condemning the detention of our community members and the transformation of students and faculty into political prisoners in this country for voicing support for the Palestinian cause,” said Joseph Howley, a classics professor at Columbia, following Monday’s protest.

NEWARK, New Jersey — Meanwhile, Newark Airport is experiencing significant disruptions with flight delays and daily cancellations for over a week. These issues are exacerbated by staff shortages, heavy cloud cover, and ongoing construction. The chaos began April 28 after air traffic controllers lost radio and radar communication with planes for 90 seconds due to a technical failure at the Federal Aviation Administration‘s facility in Philadelphia. Since then, controllers have taken stress leave.

United Airlines has canceled 35 daily flights from Newark, citing passenger safety concerns and criticized the FAA for not keeping its air traffic control systems updated. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has called for an investigation into the ‘chaos’ occurring at Newark Airport.