Protestors arrested on campus of Notre Dame

SOUTH BEND, Ind - More than 2,000 arrests have been made nationwide in pro-Palestinian protests on college campuses and it's now happening here in Michiana.

17 protesters at the University of Notre Dame were arrested during a peaceful demonstration Thursday night.

Notre Dame Police arrested the students for trespassing.

Protestors chanted, "No justice, no peace!", at the demonstration on the Notre Dame campus.

Graduate student, Francesca Freeman, was at the protest.

Freeman says they started their encampment in the early afternoon at a lawn near the edge of campus, working most of the day to set up a meeting with the Dean of Keough School of Global Affairs, but she claims he shrugged off their request.

Freeman says that's when they moved to the central part of campus called the "God Quad" near the Basilica of The Sacred Heart and Sorin Hall, a men's dormitory.

In a written statement, the university says that senior administrators warned the group to not disturb students studying for finals and that Notre Dame Police arrested the 17 people after a final warning.

“I honestly think their reaction was pathetic," said Freeman.

"Students were simply sitting on the grass at their own university and I don't think that is something students should be arrested for, especially in the manner they were arrested," said Linnea Barron, another student at Notre Dame.

The St. Joseph County Prosecutor's Office says all 17 arrested have been released.

They are ordered to appear in court on June 28.