President Joe Biden On College Protests: People Do Not Have The 'Right To Cause Chaos'

President Joe Biden has addressed the nation regarding the ongoing college campus protests across the United States over the Israel-Gaza war.

Hundreds of pro-Palestinian protesters were arrested across U.S. campuses on Wednesday, May 1, 2024, which has raised concerns, especially regarding safety on college campuses.

While the exact number of arrests remains unclear, it was reported that more than 1,300 arrests have taken place in the last two weeks related to these protests.

Now, the President of the United States is speaking out.

President Joe Biden addressed the nation in a press conference on Thursday, May 2, 2024, telling the public, "There’s the right to protest, but not the right to cause chaos."

"Destroying property is not a peaceful protest. It's against the law. Vandalism, trespassing, breaking windows shutting down campuses, forcing the cancelation of classes and graduations, none of this is a peaceful protest," Biden said during the press conference.

"Threatening people, intimidating people, instilling fear in people is not a peaceful protest. It's against the law," he continued. "Dissent is essential to democracy, but dissent must never lead to disorder or to denying the rights of others so students can finish the semester and their college education."

"People have the right to get an education, the right to get a degree, the right to walk across a campus safely without fear of being attacked. Let's be clear about this as well — there should be no place on any campus, no place in America, for antisemitism or threats of violence against Jewish students," the President of the United States added.

Video footage from Tuesday's protest at the City University of New York showed officers forcing some protesters to the ground, per The Guardian. 102 people were arrested at City College of New York Tuesday night, but NYPD analysis shows they were not affiliated with the university. 68 other people who were arrested were reportedly affiliated with the school.

Students at other schools, including Yale University, Columbia University, Harvard University, the University of Texas at Austin, the University of Southern California, and many more, have also been protesting.

Following a brief address, a member of the press asked the President if the National Guard should intervene. The President simply said, "No."

Another reporter asked President Biden, "Have the protests forced you to reconsider any of the policies with regard to the region?"

Biden again answered, "No."

According to ABC, the California Highway Patrol stated that at least 132 people were arrested on Thursday in protests at the University of California Los Angeles.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams said approximately 300 people were arrested at Columbia University.

Plus, the New York Police Department arrested 15 people at Fordham University’s Manhattan campus on Wednesday, April 1, according to the school’s president, Tania Tetlow.

The University of Minnesota staff has been meeting to try to reach an agreement to end the student-led protests on campus.

"Our meetings have been grounded in listening, learning, and respect, and I believe they were a very positive first step in reaching mutual understanding," University of Minnesota interim President Jeff Ettinger said in a statement. "Though the original meeting was scheduled for 30 minutes yesterday, we engaged in constructive conversation for more than 90 minutes. We then met two more times to discuss the proposed agreements."

"We regret that these meetings did not happen sooner, and have committed to regular meetings moving forward to continue to discuss this coalition’s concerns," he added.

The college protests come weeks after The Blast reported on a pro-Palestinian protest that shut down the Golden Gate Bridge.