Nearly 50 professors at the University of Virginia condemned the school’s “repression of a peaceful protest of our students” after police in riot gear confronted pro-Palestinian occupiers over the weekend, joining faculty at other schools in supporting encampments that university leaders are increasingly opposing.

The group of history professors started circulating an open letter on Sunday, one day after Virginia State Police clashed with protesters at UVA, using pepper spray and physical force to clear the encampment and arrest 25 agitators.