More than 100 protesters arrested at Dartmouth, UNH

May 2—More than 100 pro-Palestinian protesters were arrested on college campuses in New Hampshire Wednesday night, including at least 90 at Dartmouth College in Hanover and a dozen at the University of New Hampshire in Durham, officials said.

Protesters on both campuses were charged with offenses ranging from criminal trespass and resisting arrest at Dartmouth to disorderly conduct and trespassing at UNH, after they refused to disperse during protests against Israel's military action in the Gaza Strip, officials said.

Gov. Chris Sununu praised the actions of local, campus and State Police and college administrators in quelling the disturbances without having to resort to more forceful crackdowns, as seen on other U.S. college campuses.

"I am shocked, frankly, especially with what we saw at Dartmouth. These young people who are potentially throwing away their careers and degrees and opportunity," Sununu said on the Morning Information Center radio program with Mike Pomp Thursday morning.

"You can take this whole discussion to, 'where are the parents?'"

State police issued a statement Wednesday night after the arrests were made starting around 9 p.m. Hanover and campus police were processing the arrests, officials said.

"Tonight, the New Hampshire State Police deployed personnel and various resources to the University of New Hampshire and Dartmouth College campuses in response to illegal activity and at the request of local law enforcement," the statement said.

In a statement, Hanover police said they were made aware of a planned protest Wednesday on the Dartmouth Green, and Dartmouth's safety and security department advised them "that no encampment or tents would be allowed."

"Once tents were erected, Dartmouth Safety & Security made multiple announcements to participants that they must disperse, and they refused," Hanover Police said in a statement.

ACLU-NH issued a statement Wednesday condemning the arrests, saying they were "highly concerned" with reports of police responding in riot gear.

"Use of police force against protestors should never be a first resort," ACLU-NH said in a statement.

The statement went on to say that while ACLU-NH does not take a position on the conflict in Israel and Palestine, "we are committed to ensuring freedom of expression and association, including on college and university campuses in New Hampshire."

Dartmouth College President Sian Leah Beilock defended the decision to have protesters arrested in a statement emailed campus-wide Thursday.

"Last night, people felt so strongly about their beliefs that they were willing to face disciplinary action and arrest," the statement said.

Beilock went on to mention campus policies that prohibit demonstrations that interfere with Dartmouth's academic mission or create safety risks for students and staff.

"When policies like these have been ignored on other campuses, hate and violence have thrived — events, like commencement, are canceled, instruction is forced to go remote, and, worst of all, abhorrent antisemitism and Islamophobia reign," Beilock's statement said.

At UNH, 12 protesters were arrested — 10 students along with two people not affiliated with the university, school officials said — after confrontations with police during a "May Day Rally for Palestine."

"While we will always protect free speech on our campus, UNH belongs to every citizen of New Hampshire and we will not allow it to be co-opted by a small group of protesters, including outside agitators," the school said in a statement.

"Over the past six months, students supporting Palestine have peacefully protested on campus at least seven times. Despite much communication with organizers regarding the university's expectations for conduct when exercising their free speech rights, those guidelines were ignored today."

Before the Hamas attacks against Israel that killed 1,200 last October, legislators had proposed bipartisan legislation to define the free-speech rights of protests conducted on public higher education campuses (HB 1305).

The bill was passed by the state Senate on Thursday.

HB 1305, which already was approved by the New Hampshire House, now heads to Gov. Chris Sununu.