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Hundreds have refused to disperse from pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia University after the school set a 2pm deadline for them to leave or face suspension.
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.
Watch as Columbia University students discuss request to vacate protest encampment
Columbia University’s president said on Monday (29 April) that talks with pro-Palestinian protesters over the dismantling of an encampment on the Ivy League campus had failed and urged them to voluntarily disperse or face suspension from school.
President Nemat Minouche Shafik said days of talks between student organisers and academic leaders had failed to break a stalemate over the tent encampment set up to protest Israel’s war in Gaza.
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Police dragging, arresting Gaza protesters at University of Texas, Austin
Gaza protesters at Columbia defy deadline to leave encampment: ‘We will not be moved unless by force’
Gaza solidarity protesters at Columbia refused to abandon their encampment after the university’s leaders issued a threat to issue mass suspensions if they did not leave by 2pm today.
“We will not be moved unless by force,” said Sueda Polat, one of the protest organisers, at a defiant press conference at the camp on Monday after the deadline had passed.
Hundreds of students are likely to be impacted by the suspensions, which the university administration announced on Monday after negotiations between the protest organisers and the university broke down.
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Bernie Sanders expresses support for Gaza protests
Mr Sanders, the independent Vermont senator, was questioned by CNN’s Dana Bash on State of the Union on Sunday over the role of antisemitism in pro-Palestine protests that have erupted across college campuses in the United States.
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Protesters have returned to University of Texas at Austin campus after state cracked down on demonstrations last week
Columbia University student group says it will not leave campus until the administration negotiates with them or they are ‘removed by force’
A Columbia University student group protesting Israel’s war in Gaza issued a statement today saying it would not leave the encampment unless they are “moved by force” and that they plan to “escalate our direct actions” if the university refuses to negotiate with them in good faith.
The university issued a 2pm deadline for students to leave campus or face suspension.
Columbia University Apartheid Divest then issued a statement saying they “will not move until Columbia meets our demand or we are moved by force.”
“We have informed the University that we are prepared to escalate our direct actions if they do not adopt basic standards of conduct for negotiations,” the statement says.
The statement includes a reference to a “state of emergency” on campus, but Columbia University later clarified there was no emergency called on campus.
Columbia protesters gather to ‘protect’ encampment as 2pm deadline to leave passes
Brown University offers to hear divestment arguments if protesters end campus encampment
Brown University will hear students’ and faculty’s arguments for divestment if the Gaza protesters agree to end their encampment on campus, according to reports.
The university reportedly gave out letters to protesters on Monday offering the comrpromise.
If the encampment “is peacefully brought to an end within the next few days and is not replaced with any other encampments or unauthorized protest activity,” the “Corporation of Brown University will invite five students representing the current encampment activity and a small group of faculty members to speak with a similarly sized group of Corporation members about their arguments for divestment,” the letter says.
Students will reportedly meet with the administration today at 3pm to discuss the deal.
A Jewish student has sued Columbia University and is seeking a class-action status, claiming the school failed to provide the education it promised to Jewish students
An anoymous Jewish student at Columbia University is suing the school, claiming it has failed to provide a safe learning environment for its students due to the on-going Gaza protests on campus.
The lawsuit is seeking class-action status and argues that the school is “too dangerous fo Columbia’s Jewish students to receive the education they were promised”.
The filing takes particular issue with Columbia’s decision to introduce a hybrid learning system last week due to the protests.
“Jewish students…get a second-class education where they are relegated to their homes to attend classes virtually and stripped of the opportunity to interact meaningfully with other students and faculty and sit for examinations with their peers,” the lawsuit says. “The segregation of Jewish students is a dangerous development that can quickly escalate into more severe acts of violence and discrimination.”
A seperate motion filed alongside the lawsuit is seeking an emergency injuction forcing Columbia University to enforce its Statement of Ethical Conduct and Administrative Code of Conduct.
WATCH: Police detain protesters at Emory University during pro-Palestine demonstration
Source: independent.co.uk
