Tensions on American college campuses are rising with dozens of arrests across the country. Police detained at least 25 pro-Palestinian protesters and cleared an encampment at the University of Virginia on Saturday, the university said in a statement, as American campuses braced for more unrest during graduation celebrations.

Tensions flared on the UVA campus in Charlottesville, where protests had been largely peaceful until Saturday morning, when police officers in riot gear were seen on video breaking into an encampment on the campus lawn , handcuffing some protesters with zip ties and using what appeared to be chemical spray.

Students across the United States have rallied or set up tents at dozens of universities to protest the months-long Gaza war and call on President Joe Biden, who has supported Israel, to do more to stop the bloodshed in Gaza. They also call on their faculties to divest from companies that support the Israeli government, such as weapons suppliers.

The University of Virginia stated in a press release that protesters had violated several university policies, such as setting up tents on Friday night and using amplified sound.

Jim Ryan, president of UVA, wrote in a message that authorities had learned that “individuals not affiliated with the university” who presented “some security concerns” had joined protesters on campus. Although it was not clear how many of those arrested were UVA students.

A group called UVA Camp for Gaza, which earlier this week said it had set up the camp, condemned the university’s decision to call the police in a post on Instagram

Dozens of people were arrested for trespassing outside the Art Institute of Chicago at a demonstration Saturday, after the institute called police to remove protesters it said were illegally occupying its property, the Department of Transportation said. Chicago Police in X.

In other places, the confrontations did not lead to arrests. In Ann Arbor, pro-Palestinian protesters briefly disrupted a graduation ceremony at the University of Michigan.

Videos spread on social media showed dozens of students wearing the traditional keffiyeh headdress and graduation caps and waving Palestinian flags as they walked down the center aisle of Michigan Stadium to cheers and boos from a crowd of thousands.

The ceremony continued and campus police escorted protesters to the rear of the stadium, but no arrests were made, according to Colleen Mastony, a university spokeswoman.

“Peaceful protests like this have taken place at UM graduation ceremonies for decades,” Mastony said in a statement. “The university supports freedom of expression, and university leaders are delighted that today’s graduation ceremony was a moment of pride and triumph.”

Over the past two weeks, conflicting opinions about Israel’s war in Gaza have erupted, sometimes violently, on American campuses.

Many of them, such as Columbia University in New York, have turned to the police to quell the protests.

To date, police have detained more than 2,000 protesters at universities across the country.

The University of Michigan is one of many universities that modified their safety protocols for graduation ceremonies.

The anti-war protests have been organized in response to the Israeli offensive in Gaza, which Israel launched following a Hamas attack on October 7 in which Israel says 1,200 people were killed. Israel has killed more than 34,000 people in retaliation, according to Gaza health authorities, and has devastated the Palestinian territory.

Protests on university campuses have become a new focus of political tension in a hotly contested and deeply divisive election year in the United States.

On Thursday, a pro-Palestinian protest at the University of Mississippi was greeted by a larger crowd of counterprotesters singing the national anthem and carrying American flags.

The events at Ole Miss, the state’s largest university, sparked widespread outrage and condemnation after a viral video showed a group of mostly white students mocking a black protester. Some yelled racist comments and one individual can be heard making what sounded like monkey noises at the black student.

As the university president condemned the “racist overtones” of the incident and said an investigation was underway, Georgia Republican Rep. Mike Collins shared the video on his X account on Friday, writing “Ole Miss is addressing the matter.” ».

A spokesman for Collins said he was pointing to examples of “ordinary students… fighting back against the very small group of leftist agitators who only care about disrupting and destroying.”

Another Republican, South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, said Saturday that he was sending Chick-fil-A, a popular American fast-food chain, to counterprotesters who “protected our flag and defended America” ??on campus. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill earlier this week.

“The actions of these young people make me hopeful for the next generation’s love for our country,” Graham’s message on the X read.