The demonstrators chanted anti-war messages and waved Palestinian flags during the opening ceremony of the University of Michigan on Saturday, as student protests against the war between Israel and Hamas clashed with the annual graduation celebrations at American universities.

The protest occurred at the start of the event at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor. About 75 people marched, many wearing traditional Arab keffiyehs alongside graduation caps, down the main aisle toward the graduation stage.

They shouted, "Hey rulers, hey rulers, you can't hide! You are funding genocide!" while holding signs, including one that read: "There are no universities left in Gaza."

In the skies above, planes flew with competing messages. One read: "Pull out of Israel now! Free Palestine!" And another read: "We stand with Israel, Jewish lives matter."

Officials said that no one was arrested, and that the protest did not seriously disrupt the approximately two-hour event, which was attended by tens of thousands of people, some waving Israeli flags.

State police blocked the protesters from reaching the stage, and university spokesperson Colin Mastroni said public safety personnel escorted the demonstrators to the back of the stadium, where they remained until the end of the event.

She added: "Peaceful protests like this have happened at University of Maryland graduation ceremonies for decades."

U.S. Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro paused several times during his remarks, saying at one point: "Ladies and gentlemen, if you could once again direct your attention to the stage."

Before administering the oath for graduates in the armed forces, Del Toro said they "will protect the freedoms that we hold so dear," including "the right to peaceful protest."

The university allowed the protesters to set up camp on campus, but police helped disperse a large gathering at a graduation-related event on Friday night, arresting one person.

Michigan was among the universities preparing for protests during graduation ceremonies this weekend, including Indiana University, Ohio State University, and Northeastern University in Boston. More are planned in the coming weeks.

At Indiana University, protesters urged their supporters to wear keffiyehs and walk out during President Pamela Whitten's remarks on Saturday evening. The Bloomington campus in Indiana designated a protest zone outside Memorial Stadium, where the ceremony is scheduled to take place.

Tents of protesters demanding universities to stop business dealings with Israel or with companies they say support the war in Gaza have spread across campuses nationwide in recent weeks in an unprecedented student movement this century, with some universities reaching agreements with protesters to end demonstrations and reduce the likelihood of disrupting finals.

Many camps have been dismantled and protesters arrested in police crackdowns.

The Associated Press recorded at least 61 incidents since April 18 where arrests were made at campus protests across the United States. More than 2,400 people have been arrested at 47 campuses and colleges. These figures are based on Associated Press reports and data from universities and law enforcement agencies.

At Princeton University in New Jersey, 18 students began a hunger strike in an attempt to pressure the university to divest from companies linked to Israel.

David Shmielinski, one of the lead hunger strikers, said in an email on Saturday that the recent protest began Friday morning, with participants consuming only water.

He added that the hunger strike would continue until university administrators meet with students regarding their demands, which include dropping criminal and disciplinary charges against protesters.

He also mentioned that other protesters are partaking in a "solidarity fast" lasting 24 hours.

Princeton students set up a protest camp and organized a sit-in in front of an administrative building this week, resulting in about 15 arrests.

Students at other colleges, including Brown and Yale, initiated similar hunger strikes earlier this year prior to the latest wave of protest camps.

In other developments on Saturday, police dispersed a demonstration at the University of Virginia. The campus police described what happened as an "illegal gathering" in a post on the social media platform X.

Footage from WVAW-TV showed police in tactical gear removing protesters from a camp on the Charlottesville campus. Authorities did not specify how many people were arrested.

Meanwhile, near Boston, students at Tufts University peacefully dismantled their protest camp without police intervention on Friday night.

Officials at the university in Medford, Massachusetts, expressed satisfaction with the development, which did not result from any agreement with the protesters. Organizers of the protest stated in a statement that they "felt deep anger and disappointment" at the failure of negotiations with the university.

The protests stem from the conflict between Israel and Hamas that began on October 7 when Hamas militants attacked southern Israel, resulting in the deaths of about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and the holding of nearly 250 hostages.

Israel has vowed to destroy Hamas and launched an assault on Gaza that has resulted in the deaths of more than 34,500 Palestinians, about two-thirds of whom are women and children, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-controlled area. Israeli strikes have devastated the enclave and caused the displacement of most of Gaza's population.