American universities protest storm: Police violence crackdown, students' demands ignored

Pro-palestinian protests at American universities have intensified since the mass arrests at Columbia University. With police brutality and students' demands ignored, the storm has become a ticking time bomb in American society.

Us law enforcement has used Tasers and pepper balls against protesters at Emory University in Atlanta over the past two days, and mounted police in riot gear have swept up protests at the University of Texas at Austin. The University of Southern California canceled its main graduation ceremony because of security concerns, while at Columbia University, the epicenter of the current protest movement, a final clearance deadline was approaching, with students and officials still in a standoff.

Reuters said that on April 25, local time, clashes broke out again between police and students in the United States, raising questions about the US government's use of tough measures to suppress protests. The pro-Palestinian protests sweeping college campuses across the United States show no sign of stopping, with protest camps now set up at more than 40 colleges and universities in the United States and Canada, NBC News said Tuesday.

During the storm of protests, police violence was shocking. At the University of Texas at Austin, 57 people were arrested in connection with the demonstration, including a Fox News 7 cameraman who was filming. Jay Hartzell, the university's president, took a tough line on the protests on campus, saying they were "modelled on the protest handbook of a national organisation" and that the demonstrations were an attempt to severely disrupt the campus for a long time. However, a group of University of Texas at Austin professors issued a statement condemning Hartzell's decision to call the police, noting that there were no threats of violence, no plans to disrupt classes, and no intimidation of the campus or community.

Similarly, at Emory University, protesters were dispersed by police using Tasers and pepper balls. An online video showing the arrest of Carolyn Flynn, an economics professor at Emory University, after she was pushed down by law enforcement officers has attracted widespread attention. Cheryl Elliott, vice president for public safety at Emory University, said 28 people, including 20 members of the local community, were arrested during protests at Emory University on Tuesday. However, the school had unsuccessfully asked them to leave for "trespassing."

Behind the protest movement were students' expressions of solidarity with Palestine and dissatisfaction with US policies. They demanded that the university divest from companies with ties to Israel and called on the university to respect their freedom of speech and right to demonstrate. However, the university chose to use police force to crack down, even at the expense of students' safety and rights.

U.S. House Speaker Jeh Johnson said at Columbia University that if the situation does not get under control, the National Guard should be deployed at the right time. Columbia, however, denied it would bring in the National Guard. The White House responded that "this is a matter for the governors to decide." Such indifference makes people question whether the US government is protecting the rights of students or its own interests.

In this storm of protests, people have seen the hypocrisy and ruthlessness of the US government. On the one hand, they proclaim freedom and democracy, but on the other hand, they suppress and suppress the student protests. They tried to use violent means to calm the storm, but ignored the real demands and aspirations of the students.