Rutgers University students involved in protests at Voorhees Mall agreed to dismantle their encampment, clear the mall and "peacefully end their protest," Chancellor Francine Conway said in a statement.

The school had instructed students to dismantle the encampment by 4 p.m. today or they would be removed with the assistance of law enforcement. The deadline was set after the university canceled final exams this morning.

Conway said in the statement that the “resolution was achieved through constructive dialogue between the protesting students and our leadership teams.”

"As per the Rutgers University Policy on Disruptions, we do not condone this morning’s disruption but recognize the necessity of balancing free speech and peaceful protest with our educational, research, and operational imperatives," the statement said.

Conway said students involved in protests have said they want "representation within our community," including a cultural center, diversity initiatives and representation in curriculum through partnerships.

The statement also acknowledged that the students have requested that Rutgers "divest from companies engaged in Israel and to sever ties with Tel Aviv University."

Conway said that "such decisions fall outside of our administrative scope" but added that the request is under review.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott today declared May as Jewish American Heritage Month in the state.

"It is imperative now more than ever that we stand in solidarity with Israel & the Jewish community," Abbott said in a post on X, alongside the proclamation.

"We will always stand in support of Israel & celebrate the role Jewish Americans have played in our great state," he said.

LOS ANGELES — A first-year UCLA student was greeted with shouts and hugs today as he stepped outside a Los Angeles Police Department processing center.

Imran, who asked that his last name not be used because of his pending court hearing, wore a yellow UCLA Bruin Proud T-shirt. In one hand, he carried a plastic bag containing his wallet and other belongings police confiscated during his arrest. In the other were containers of water and apple juice provided by volunteers.

A swollen red line from zip ties used during his arrest circled both wrists. He said that sometime around 1 a.m., officers in riot gear started to push protesters farther onto the lawn surrounding the encampment.

Imran said he was repeatedly hit in the stomach and chest with a police baton while he linked arms with protesters to prevent officers from destroying the encampment.

“We literally didn’t have any weapons,” he said of the protesters.

Standing outside the processing center, Imran shook his head in bewilderment as he recalled the five hours he sat in a jail bus with dozens of other protesters.

“That was honestly the worst part,” he said. “I’ve never been in a prison bus. It’s like being in a cage. So brutal.”

Imran was charged with unlawful assembly and is scheduled to appear in court in July. 

UCLA decided to call in police to disassemble the encampment that had been up on campus for the last week "to preserve campus safety" after it was unable to reach an agreement with demonstration leaders to disband it voluntarily, Chancellor Gene D. Block wrote in a statement today.

The statement said the university has been toying with how to approach the encampment, keeping in mind campus safety, disruptions to teaching and learning and free speech expression.

"The events of the past several days, and especially the terrifying attack on our students, faculty and staff on Tuesday night, have challenged our efforts to live up to these principles and taken an immense toll on our community," Block said.

He said that the goal was to keep the encampment up as long as it did not jeopardize the safety of those on campus but that "ultimately, the site became a focal point for serious violence as well as a huge disruption to our campus."

LOS ANGELES — Ginger Shankar, a Los Angeles resident who is not a UCLA student but joined the campus protests, heard police helicopters begin circling above UCLA’s encampment around 9 o’clock last night.

Four hours later, she said, chaos erupted as police shot tear gas and rubber bullets into the encampment indiscriminately.

“They were so crazy,” Shankar said. “They just kept shooting.”

Around 5:30 a.m. today, she joined dozens of protesters who had locked arms to prevent police from entering the encampment.

She said she heard an officer say: “Whose arm are we going to dislocate?”

Administrators at the University of California, Santa Barbara, are pleading with the protesters to cut the graduating class some slack.

"UC Santa Barbara has a tradition of student engagement and activism in which students exercise their First Amendment while respecting the rights of the entire campus community," UCSB said in a statement.

But, the statement continued, "many students who were deprived of their high school graduation ceremonies by the pandemic four years ago are now looking forward to their UCSB Commencement and the culmination of their undergraduate education."

"We owe it to them to allow them to complete their studies in an environment that supports teaching and learning. We encourage everyone to work together to protect the safety and collegiality of our academic community."

UCSB reported that protesters staged an "unpermitted rally" on Wednesday and erected an "unauthorized" encampment on the campus.

"We recognize that the violence and suffering in the Middle East have caused great distress in our campus community and we urgently hope that a peaceful resolution will be found," the statement said.

Benjamin Kersten, a UCLA student and member of the student group Jewish Voice for Peace, said the encampment was peaceful until counterprotesters stormed in and police swarmed the area.

“I’ve spent lots of time in the encampment,” Kersten said this morning, with flash-bangs set off by police audible in the background. “It’s clear to me that this encampment would have been a peaceful endeavor if not for the continual presence of counterprotesters and now a very large, significant presence of law enforcement. It’s an intense scene here.

“I’m hearing that peers and colleagues of mine are being thrown into the ground and possibly hurt with rubber bullets.”

Asked about outside groups’ hijacking protests, Kersten said: “I’ve certainly seen community support for the encampment. But I would describe the encampment very much as student-led. I think what I found most concerning is the rotating presence of counterprotesters, including their late hours of the night.”

“The university had any chances to take meaningful action and hear out their students concerns about what matters to them, in this case pressuring the university to divest and boycott in an effort to end its complicity in an ongoing genocide against Palestinians. And instead, the university chose a course of nonaction,” Kersten added.

University of Wisconsin-Madison officials have agreed not to call in police to sweep the university’s campus encampment protest today after a meeting with student organizers. 

Student organizers this morning met with administrators to discuss police violence and to demand divestment and a public declaration urging a cease-fire in Gaza. 

Another meeting is expected within the next 24 hours, and organizers will continue their protest programming today.

“I think a lot of us are going to sleep a little more comfortably knowing that we won’t be woken up by police,” Abbie Klein, a Ph.D. student who has stayed in the encampment since it popped up Monday, told NBC News. "However, that’s bare minimum, and we shouldn’t have to be relieved by that."

Rutgers University officials said all tents and protesters must be cleared out by 4 p.m. today.

A rally this morning at Voorhees Mall on the New Brunswick, New Jersey, campus disrupted 28 scheduled exams and affected more than 1,000 students. Officials postponed exams.

“This morning, we met again with the students representing the protest, again expressing our concerns for safety and student success, and informed them that their tents need to be removed from Voorhees Mall by 4 pm today,” school President Jonathan Holloway and Rutgers–New Brunswick Chancellor Francine Conway said in a statement. 

Those who don't comply and disperse will be removed with the assistance of law enforcement. Voorhees Mall and other places where university business is conducted must also be cleared of protesters “for the remainder of the semester,” the statement said.

"We value free speech and the right to protest, but it should not come at the cost of our students’ education and safety. We strive to balance these rights and maintain a safe and secure environment for our students to learn and succeed," the statement said.