Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin said encampments like this one at Columbia University in New York will not be allowed on Virginia campuses. On a growing number of college campuses throughout the country, student protesters are setting up tent encampments on school grounds to call for a ceasefire in Gaza and for their schools to divest from Israeli companies. (Photo by Stephanie Keith/Getty Images)
Following the strong reaction to the Israel-Hamas war across the country, some Virginia colleges and universities are still responding to last week’s series of on-campus demonstrations that resulted in dozens of students’ arrests and lingering questions about upcoming graduation ceremonies.
Youngkin says no encampments on Virginia campuses; supports ‘peaceful’ protests
Some of the most notable Virginia protests that led to arrests occurred at the University of Mary Washington, Virginia Commonwealth University, Virginia Tech and, most recently, the University of Virginia.
Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares said in a Sunday appearance on Fox News that protesters at UVA — where 25 people were arrested Saturday after Virginia State Police deployed pepper spray to clear an encampment that several staff and students described as peaceful — ignored multiple warnings to leave the area and “blocked and surrounded” campus officers, and “that’s when they had to ask for state police to intervene.”