Student protests take over some campuses. At others, attention is elsewhere

BOSTON (AP) — Boston College students held a protest rally against the Israel-Hamas war last week.

Bullhorns were banned, lest the noise disturb studying for finals. Tents weren’t allowed. Students who’d been arrested at other Boston campus protests were barred. After an allotted hour, the students went quietly back to their rooms.

A student protest movement has washed over the country since police first tried to end an encampment at Columbia University in New York nearly two weeks ago. But while there have been fiery rhetoric and tumultuous arrests on high-profile campuses from New York to Los Angeles, millions of students across the country have continued with their daily routines of working their way through school, socializing and studying for exams.

The protests are demonstrating wide differences among Americans in 2024, even for groups that have tended to unite during divisive times such as the 1960s.