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.
On April 30, 2024, Brown agreed to bring a student divestment proposal to its governing corporation in October. In exchange, student organizers agreed to end their encampment. The agreement also gave students a chance to present their case to members of the corporation.
On October 8, the corporation accepted its advisory committee’s recommendation against divesting from the 10 companies named in the proposal. The agreement secured a formal decision. The board rejected the requested investment change.
In February 2024, 38% of U.S. adults ages 18–29 said Israel had valid reasons for fighting Hamas, compared with 78% of adults ages 65 and older. Those figures describe answers to a question about Israel’s reasons for fighting. Pew asked separately whether Israel’s conduct in the war was acceptable.
The age gap provides a baseline for studying public opinion. Identifying any effect of activism would require evidence of exposure to protests or campaigns and a research design that accounts for other influences.
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
Documented effects beyond campus
Cost figures retain their original geography and reporting period. An evidence gap here is not a reported zero.
Evidence review · November 15, 2026. The latest records are linked in the table.
Area
What the sources establish
Policing and dispersal
The case sources reviewed here do not establish a spending total for protest policing, overtime or dispersal.
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
Property damage and repairs
No verified repair bill attributable to these protests appears in the sources reviewed for this profile.
Businesses and economic activity
The coverage does not establish lost sales, insured losses or a nationwide business impact.
Transport and access
The San Francisco district attorney said the April 15, 2024 Golden Gate Bridge protest left hundreds of motorists on the bridge and US 101 for several hours. The office did not publish a dollar estimate for the delays. District attorney’s release
Migration and religion
52,375,047 international migrants lived in United States at midyear 2024, according to UN DESA estimates. This is the resident migrant stock. The UN uses birthplace or citizenship depending on the source available for each country. UN DESA definitions · Country figures
These population measures have different denominators and dates. Neither identifies participants in a demonstration, and aggregating their counts cannot establish which people caused a disruption.
