Student protests take over some campuses. At others, attention is elsewhere

A student protest movement has washed over the country since police first tried to end an encampment at Columbia University in New York nearly two weeks ago. There have been fiery rhetoric and tumultuous arrests on high-profile campuses from New York to Los Angeles. But millions of students across the country have continued with their daily routines of working their way through school, socializing and studying for exams. The protests are demonstrating wide differences among Americans in 2024, even for groups that have tended to unite during divisive times such as the 1960s. Take Boston, the city most identified with American higher education. Students have set up encampments at at least five campuses. But calm has prevailed elsewhere in the area.