NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Four students were arrested and more than a dozen were suspended for their actions during a protest at Vanderbilt University stemming from the war in Gaza that included an overnight sit-in at an administration building, officials said.
The protest began Tuesday after after school administrators removed a proposed amendment to the Vanderbilt Student Government Constitution that would prevent student government funds from going to certain businesses that support Israel, news outlets reported. The amendment was proposed by Vanderbilt’s Divest Coalition, which includes about 20 student organizations.
Several of the protesters forcibly entered Kirkland Hall, where Vanderbilt Chancellor Daniel Diermeier’s office is located, and stayed inside the building until Wednesday morning, when they left voluntarily, the school said in a statement.
“All of the protest participants who breached the building will be placed on interim suspension,” Vanderbilt said. That means they must leave campus and can’t return pending a Student Affairs review process.
Three students were charged with misdemeanor assault because they pushed a community service officer and a staff member who offered to meet with them as they entered the building, the school said. A fourth student was charged with vandalism after breaking a window.
The school didn’t say how many students were suspended, but the Divest Coalition posted on social media that it was more than 16.
The incident also led to a local reporter being detained for making repeated attempts to enter several locked doors and being asked to leave. The school said no charges were filed.
Nashville Scene reporter Eli Motycka tweeted that he was there to cover the protest when he was arrested and that the school’s charge against him “was immediately dismissed by the court magistrate for lacking probable cause.”
More student protesters gathered outside the building Wednesday morning, Vanderbilt said.
“The university will work with them to ensure they can remain consistent with the university’s policies for peaceful demonstration,” the school said. “Free expression is a core value at Vanderbilt, as is civil discourse.”
The university said it has policies that limit when, where and how students can protest and demonstrate on issues for safety reasons.
“The university will take action when our policies are violated, the safety of our campus is jeopardized and when people intimidate or injure members of our community,” it said.
