After weeks of college protests, police responses turn confrontational

Colleges and universities reckoned Wednesday with the aftermath of major shows of police force across the country that cleared some protest encampments and emptied a Manhattan classroom building in a turning point following two weeks of contagious pro-Palestinian demonstrations.Even after a fragile calm resettled over campuses that have seen the bulk of the chaos, footage of officers in riot gear extracting students from Columbia University’s Hamilton Hall — the most searing images from 24 hours of tense confrontations between law enforcement and protesters — sparked debates…