Columbia starts suspending students after Gaza protesters defy deadline to clear encampment: Live
Columbia University has begun suspending students after hundreds of pro-Palestinian protester refused to disperse from encampments on the college campus by a 2pm deadline Monday. Hundreds of protesters remained on campus after the 2pm deadline passed.
Columbia president Nemat Minouche Shafik said in a statement on Monday that talks between the school and protesters have broken down, and that the university has refused to divest from Israel.
She also said that she did not want “to deprive thousands of students and their families and friends of a graduation celebration” particularly as many who would be leaving the college this year did not get a high school graduation because of Covid.
“For all of the reasons above, we urge those in the encampment to voluntarily disperse,” Ms Shafik wrote.
The school’s senate called for an investigation into president and her administration, amid the ongoing protests.
The sentate voted on Friday to approve the resolution, and accused the administration of violating established protocols, undermining academic freedom, and breaching the due process rights of both students and professors, according to the senate’s Resolution Adressing Current Events, seen by The Independent.
Ms Shafik has faced heavy criticism for her decision to allow the New York Police Department (NYPD) to disperse protesters on the campus, resulting in the arrests and sparking similar protests across the US.
Both Jewish students and students expressing views supporting Palestinians have reported harassment, leading to safety concerns on campuses.
Campus anti-war protesters dig in from New York to California as universities and police take action
From New York to California, students protesting the Israel-Hamas war slept in tents at college campuses, as some universities moved to shut down encampments and arrested dozens of demonstrators after reports of antisemitic activity.
With the death toll mounting in the war in Gaza, protesters nationwide are demanding schools cut financial ties to Israel and divest from companies they say enable the conflict. Some Jewish students say the protests have veered into antisemitism and made them afraid to set foot on campus.
At Columbia University in New York City, where early protests sparked pro-Palestinian demonstrations across the country, students and administrators have engaged in negotiations, the university said in a statement Saturday night.
Graig Graziosi29 April 2024 22:30
Columbia University says it has begun suspending student protesters still on campus after 2pm deadline
Officials at Columbia University said it has begun suspending students protesting Israel’s war in Gaza who have remained on campus after a 2pm deadline to disperse.
Hundreds of protesters including students and faculty remained on campus after the 2pm deadline passed.
Graig Graziosi29 April 2024 22:22
WATCH: Columbia University students respond to request to vacate protest encampment
Columbia University students respond to request to vacate protest encampment
Hundreds of students have refused to disperse from pro-Palestine protests at Columbia University after the school set a deadline for them to leave or face suspension. Columbia University’s president said on Monday (29 April) that talks with protesters who began camping on the Ivy League campus two weeks ago had failed. In a letter, the school warned of interim suspensions for all students who do not voluntarily leave the protest by 1400 EST. Dozens of protesters gathered to march around the encampment as the deadline elapsed on Monday afternoon. Responding in a press conference, students called the attempts to make them leave “repulsive scare tactics”.
Graig Graziosi29 April 2024 22:20
Columbia University in hi-vis vests linked arms to block forced removal of protesters from campus
Shortly before the 2pm deadline, Columbia University faculty supporting the Gaza protests on campus linked arms in orange his-vis vests to protect students from being forcibly removed from the campus.
Graig Graziosi29 April 2024 22:12
White House press secretary refuses to comment on whether or not Gaza protesters should face punishment
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre refused to answer when pressed on whether or not the Biden administration believes Gaza protesters should face punishment and criminal charges.
“These are institutions – some of them are private, some of them are public – and it is up to their leadership, university leadership and colleges, to make that decision,” she said during a Monday press briefing at the White House.
Graig Graziosi29 April 2024 22:00
WATCH: Columbia University students continue to protest after 2pm deadline
Graig Graziosi29 April 2024 21:59
Video emerges of police removing a woman’s hijab on Arizona State University campus
Graig Graziosi29 April 2024 21:50
Police arrested more than 90 protesters on Sunday night at Virginia Tech
More than 90 people, including students, were arrested at a protest encampment at Virginia Tech overnight, according to a statement from the school.
“91 individuals, 54 of whom are current Virginia Tech students, were arrested and all were charged with trespassing,” the the statement said.
The arrests began around 10:20pm, five minutes after police warned protesters they would be considered trespassers if they did not disperse.
Graig Graziosi29 April 2024 21:45
Student protests over the Israel-Hamas war roil US campuses ahead of graduations
Colleges around the country implored pro-Palestinian student protesters to clear out tent encampments with rising levels of urgency Monday as classes wrap up for the semester and campuses prepare for graduation ceremonies.
Students and others have been sparing over the Israel-Hamas war and its mounting death toll. Many students are demanding their universities cut financial ties with Israel.
Protests were still active at a number of campuses. Near George Washington University, protesters at an encampment breached and dismantled the barriers Monday morning used to secure University Yard, the university said in a statement. The yard had been closed since last week.
Graig Graziosi29 April 2024 21:41
Columbia University professor says university turned protest site into ‘crime scene’
Columbia University anthropology professor Mahmood Mamdani said school’s administration turned the site of an ongoing Gaza protest into “a crime scene”.
Some members of the university’s faculty joined with student protesters ahead of a 2pm deadline the school gave demonstrators to disperse or face suspension.
“Nobody thinks they should be suspended. Look at the thousands that have turned up here,” Mr Mamdani told CNN.
He said that professors”teach our students not to accept things at face value” and to “ask questions, no matter the consequences”.
“The idea of penalizing students for protests? The administration has turned the site of a protest into a crime scene,” he said. “If I were the administration, I would have promoted discussion, not muzzled discussion.”
Graig Graziosi29 April 2024 21:30