Economist Poll: Most Have Negative View of College Protests

A majority of Americans have a negative view of the pro-Palestinian demonstrations that have engulfed hundreds of college campuses over the past several weeks, a recent poll shows.

The Economist/YouGov poll conducted May 5-7 of 1,813 U.S. adults found that 50% of respondents oppose the recent protests at U.S. college campuses, while only 26% support the demonstrations.

Chaos has crippled dozens of college campuses in the United States the past three weeks with protesters demanding that schools divest from Israel and companies that manufacture military weapons. Many schools have gone to remote learning for the remainder of the semester, and several commencement ceremonies have been canceled as a result of the protests.