United States | Blooming encampments

Escalating protests expose three fault lines on American campuses

Universities struggle with how to regulate free speech and other rules

NYPD officers in riot gear break into a building at Columbia University, where pro-Palestinian students are barricaded inside.
Photograph: Getty Images
|Los Angeles and New York

Editor’s note (May 1st): This story has been updated.

Explore more

This article appeared in the United States section of the print edition under the headline “The crackdown cranks up”

Truth and lies: The new science of disinformation

From the May 4th 2024 edition

Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents

Explore the edition

More from United States

Kamala Harris introduces “Coach” Tim Walz, her trusty running-mate

As Republicans seek to brand their rivals as dangerously liberal, Democrats are matching Donald Trump’s public displays of enthusiasm

Why Kamala Harris picked Tim Walz as her running-mate

Compared with a bolder but more divisive alternative, the Minnesota governor was the easier choice


Kamala Harris leads Donald Trump in our nationwide poll tracker

It is the first lead for a Democratic contender since October 2023


Simone Biles is the most decorated gymnast in history

Her triumphant comeback at the Paris Olympics confirms her as also one of the most popular

Why do conservatives in America love Zyn?

A nicotine pouch has stimulated America’s young men—and the culture wars