COLUMBUS, Ohio — College campuses around the country have taken center stage in the national discourse this week as pro-Palestinian protests across several universities resulted in a police response that led to many arrests.
The Ohio State University was no different as pro-Palestinian protests led to dozens of arrests after police told hundreds of protesters to disperse from where they had gathered at the South Oval area of campus.
According to the university, there were 36 arrests on Thursday, 16 of which were students and 20 of which they say were not affiliated with the university.
Two other students were arrested during a protest Tuesday, for which their lawyer has said they have entered not guilty pleas.
The protests themselves and the level of police response have caused various individuals and organizations to issue statements on the matter.
State Rep. Munira Abdullahi, D-Columbus, attended Thursday’s protest at the university.
She issued a statement Friday in which she said she was injured after police in riot gear escalated the situation. She said she was grabbed by her headscarf and pushed to the ground, causing bruising around her ribs and midsection.
“I believe there was absolutely no reason for the police to respond the way they did,” her statement reads. “We posed no threat to them or anyone else. We were simply making our voices peacefully heard for the millions of Palestinians who have no voice of their own right now. I was not one of the more than three dozen demonstrators arrested, but I stand with them and all my fellow protesters calling for an end to the war. Let us all please pray for peace in Gaza and peace at home.”
While at another event Friday, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine was asked about the protests on OSU’s campus and the university’s response. The governor responded that universities have to balance the First Amendment and that colleges are places people should be able to express their own point of view.
“On the other hand, they have the right to have some basic rules,” he said. “What you saw last night is they allowed the demonstration to go on for some time. When it got dark, frankly, they invoked their rule, which says that you cannot occupy that part overnight, nor do they allow any kind of tents or encampments there. That’s not a new rule. They’ve had that for a number of years.”
He said he felt Ohio State did well. He also said the university asked for support from the highway patrol, which he said backed up the state police.
“I think it’s always a balance,” he said, “and I think de-escalation is always important, but I think we should keep in mind, you know, the individuals who were ultimately arrested were told over a repeated period of time, a number of hours, that it’s time to wrap this up. It’s time for you to leave for tonight. They were told that. They were told they were going to be arrested.”
Ohio’s chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations issued a statement Friday that read, in part:
“It is alarming to receive reports of protesters having their hijabs ripped off and being arrested while in prayer, Muslim students are not just feeling unsafe on campus, but being actively criminalized. All students should feel safe while expressing their views and engaging in their right to assemble peacefully. We demand OSU immediately cease any further acts of repression against the protesters and take action to respect and protect the speech of its students."
The Ohio Student Association also issued a press release in which they said they condemned OSU for setting campus police on peaceful protestors.
“These actions are especially repugnant in a state where the Kent State shootings of anti-war protesters took place in 1970,” the release reads. “As in that moment, students today stand on the right side of history. It is reprehensible and deeply disappointing that Ohio State and universities across the country have chosen to stand on the wrong side and to attempt to defend their actions by smearing peaceful student protests against genocide as ‘antisemitic.’”
The Ohio State University officials released the following statement as arrests took place:
“Well established university rules prohibit camping and overnight events. Demonstrators exercised their First Amendment rights for several hours and were then instructed to disperse. Individuals who refused to leave after multiple warnings were arrested and charged with criminal trespass.”
Regarding the students arrested Tuesday, a university statement stated the demonstration had become disruptive and read, in part:
"When the disruptive activity continued, two individuals were arrested. Ohio State has an unwavering commitment to freedom of speech and took this action in alignment with our space use rules to provide for the orderly conduct of university business."