Vassar College president reflects on new academic year following May protests

Colleges across New York are settling into the new school year after a tense spring marked by student protests over the Israel-Hamas war. At SUNY New Paltz, more than 130 people were arrested in May when New York State Police were called in to break up a pro-Palestine encampment on campus. Nearby Vassar College in Poughkeepsie also saw a multi-day encampment of students calling on the college to divest from Israel, but it was able to reach an agreement to bring the encampment down. Vassar College President Elizabeth Bradley spoke with WAMC Hudson Valley Bureau Chief Jesse King to reflect on what the campus has learned since the spring. By way of disclosure, Vassar College is home to WAMC's Hudson Valley bureau.