A majority of Americans are concerned the recent protests on college campuses will culminate in violence.
A new survey from USA Today and Suffolk University highlights the psychological impact the unrest has caused.
When asked about support for the protestors, 45% of the survey participants said they opposed the protests while 23% indicated they agreed with the protestors’ demands but not their conduct.
Participants were evenly divided when asked if the pro-Palestine protests reflect antisemitism – 40.9% saying yes and 40% saying no. They were more likely (42.7%) to think the majority of the pro-Palestine protestors were not pro-Hamas.
Roughly 67% of participants are concerned about the campus demonstrations leading to violence. In total, 31.9% of participants classified themselves as “very concerned,” 35.1% said they were “somewhat concerned,” and 14.9% were “not very concerned.” Just over 14% were “not at all concerned” about the potential for violence at the protests.
The USA Today/Suffolk survey asked participants what cause would prompt them to protest even if it meant they were arrested. The largest portion of respondents (47.8%) said there was no cause that would motivate them to take that risk. The most popular causes for which others were willing to risk arrest while protesting included “women’s rights/ Pro-Choice” issues (8.3%) and “civil rights/police brutality/BLM” (5.5%).
When asked who they would support if the presidential election was held today, 37.1% of participants selected former President Donald Trump while 35.7% said they would support President Joe Biden. Independent candidate Fobert F. Kennedy Jr. was the third most popular option with 8% support.
The majority of respondents (nearly 75%) said their minds are firmly made up on which candidate they will support in November.
The survey was conducted between April 30 and May 3 among 1,000 registered voters.
The wave of on-campus protests captured national media attention over the last month. Students across the country set up encampments on their campuses to object to Israel’s treatment of Palestinian civilians during the nation’s ongoing conflict with Hamas.
More than 2,100 arrests have been made across the country in connection to the on-campus protests since April 17. NBC News reports that at least 100 of the arrests occurred on each of the campuses of eight schools, including Northeastern University in Boston, Washington University in St. Louis and the University of Texas at Austin.
“The leaders of many universities have defended their decisions to call in law enforcement, including when protesters who were suspected of trespassing or disorderly conduct — and, in Columbia’s case, overtaking a building on campus — did not follow orders to disperse,” noted the outlet. “In some instances the intensity of the police response has drawn harsh criticism from protesters, activists and their allies.”
Clashes between police and protestors broke out during encampment breakdowns at the University of California, Los Angeles and Columbia University on May 1.
