From The Guardian

Nine photojournalists — three from The Daily Texan — tell the stories behind their most powerful shots, as pro-Palestinian protesters face police crackdowns.

By Gail Fletcher and Julius Constantine Motal with text by Erum Salam

As protests in support of Palestine sweep university campuses across the US, student journalists from New York to Texas have documented the reality inside the encampments. They have risen to the occasion, capturing the quiet moments, the celebratory elements, the tense scenes and the violent police arrests.

The Guardian asked nine photographers — who have been covering the demonstrations at Columbia, Berkeley, the University of Texas and beyond — to tell the stories behind their most powerful photos.

Below are photos from three Daily Texan photojournalists. Link to full gallery at bottom of this article.

Manoo Sirivelu | The Daily Texan, University of Texas at Austin
In this picture, University of Texas police (UTPD) officers are pinning a protester on the concrete sidewalk and zip-tying them. Law enforcement would push in at intervals and surround the protesters, 360 degrees. Nearby crowds and media often couldn’t see the full extent of the force used and how the protesters were being detained. I wanted to show the feelings of imprisonment and suffocation that the students were experiencing, so I tried to depict the officers’ legs as bars that were already surrounding the student.

I was beside the student in this picture when the arrest was made and a UTPD officer had pushed me down while trying to make space. I was lying on the ground with a wall of cops between me and the student when I sat up to take this picture, not more than five feet away from her.

I was shocked from being pushed to the ground when I met her gaze and realized we were close enough to make eye contact. I felt needed to take a picture that would encapsulate both her feelings and my own.

It shows how unnecessary the force used in these arrests was. Our cameras bear the responsibility of recording the events – to allow the viewers to see, and, most importantly, place themselves in our point of view with a space for empathy that a photo like this provides.

Lorianne Willett | The Daily Texan, University of Texas at Austin

I was looking to tell the stories of students being arrested. When I took this picture, I was standing just in front of state troopers who’d surrounded the van they were putting arrested people in. I was in the front of a large crowd of people protesting and spectating. After going through my take, I really felt so affected by seeing the faces of people my age being taken to jail. In this shot, I like the framing of arrested protesters in between the helmets of state troopers.

Charlotte Keene | The Daily Texan, University of Texas at Austin
After protest and police interactions got more hectic, many students started running away.

Another photographer and I ran into this building after police started using force to disperse the crowd. We knew we had to do more than hide, so we started looking for classrooms with windows. We heard the commotion coming from the bottom floor exits. And then we saw the scene.

I was scared. I almost did not take it. Those of us in the building were unsure whether the police would force their way in. But I stopped for a second and knew I needed to capture what I was seeing.

I love the symmetry. I think there is something pleasant to look at about the contrast in light and the repetitive squares from the window – almost as if there is a sense of calm before the storm. To me, the stillness reads as anticipation.

View the full photo gallery from The Guardian here.