A Surge in Campus Demonstrations
ACLED recorded more campus demonstrations in May 2024 than in April, while reported incidents of violence at those protests declined.
ACLED reported that the number of campus demonstrations it tracked rose by more than 36% in May 2024 compared with April. The demonstrations remained overwhelmingly peaceful, and reported incidents of violence at them declined month to month.
Individual campuses documented specific disruptions. At Columbia University, an April 30 advisory asked people who could stay away from the Morningside campus to do so after protesters occupied Hamilton Hall. The university reported restricting access that day.
Scale and disruption
The May increase is a comparison with April, not a share of campuses affected. One university can host several demonstrations, and a single occupation can disrupt multiple buildings. Columbia’s access restrictions are an example of a local response, while ACLED’s event counts provide a wider view. A campus-level comparison would need dates, restrictions and cancelled teaching for each institution.
Police and transport records by country
Several hours of road disruption in San Francisco
On April 15, 2024, a separate Gaza-related demonstration blocked traffic on the Golden Gate Bridge. The San Francisco district attorney reported that hundreds of motorists remained on the bridge and US 101 for several hours. It announced charges against 26 people in August. Charges describe allegations made by prosecutors.
The incident identifies a specific transport route, date and duration range. The prosecutor’s release does not quantify fuel, payroll, freight or missed appointments. ACLED’s campus series measures event frequency and cannot be used to infer a dollar cost for this road closure. District attorney’s case announcement
Indexed to April = 100. The May bar shows the lower bound of the reported rise of more than 36%. ACLED reported a decline in incidents of violence over the same comparison. Source
One New Jersey city reported an overtime bill
Englewood’s city manager told The Record that the city had incurred $32,000 in overtime since October 7, most of it for additional police at council meetings and protests. The figure reported in 2024 covers several activities. No breakdown in the account assigns an amount to any one demonstration. Teaneck’s separate municipal budget reports police spending by account, which cannot establish the protest share of its spending.
Interview with the Englewood city manager · Teaneck municipal budget book
Figures and sources
A US historical study compares incarceration by birthplace from 1870 to 2020. It finds lower incarceration rates for immigrants in recent decades. Incarceration is the outcome measured and the comparison uses birthplace. It does not estimate protest involvement, incidents committed, or outcomes by religious affiliation. NBER research paper
ACLED’s increase of more than 36% compares the same category of observed campus events across two months. The decline in reported incidents of violence concerns the same period. That combination matters when assessing whether more frequent protest necessarily entailed more violent events. A separate tally of class cancellations, campus access restrictions and public police spending would be required to measure national costs.
United States population and public costs · Public costs and national research