NEW YORK — Columbia University’s deadline for pro-Palestinian protesters to clear their nearly two-week-old encampment passed at 2 p.m. Monday. Students who refused to leave by then would face suspension, the university said.
Many of the tents remained and a large group of students appeared to start marching around the perimeter of the encampment when the deadline struck.
Columbia officials said the student protesters also needed to identify themselves and pledge to follow university policies through next school year in order to finish this semester in good standing, according to a letter they received.
Before announcing the deadline, Columbia said it would not divest from Israel and that negotiations with the students broke down.
“Since Wednesday, a small group of academic leaders has been in constructive dialogue with student organizers to find a path that would result in the dismantling of the encampment and adherence to University policies going forward. Regretfully, we were not able to come to an agreement,” Columbia University President Dr. Minouche Shafik wrote in a new statement Monday.
The president went on to say both sides “worked in good faith to reach common ground,” adding, “we thank them all for their diligent work, long hours, and careful effort and wish they had reached a different outcome.”
The protesters were asked to remove their encampment and follow university rules moving forward, including applying with two-days’ notice to demonstrate in authorized locations.
“We urge those in the encampment to voluntarily disperse. We are consulting with a broader group in our community to explore alternative internal options to end this crisis as soon as possible,” Shafik wrote.
Over the weekend, school officials said there was no truth behind claims of an impending lockdown or evictions. Mayor Eric Adams reiterated the NYPD will only respond if the school calls police onto campus.
“Once that request is made, you want to do it with the minimum amount of force, because you are talking about young people and you’re not trying to in any way jeopardize their safety,” Adams said.
Columbia says it will not divest. What it offered instead.
Among their demands, the student protesters called on Columbia to divest from companies that do business with Israel, which the university says it will not do.
President Shafik’s wrote in her statement the school will not divest, but it offered to “develop an expedited timeline” for its Advisory Committee for Socially Responsible Investing to review students’ divestment proposals. It also offered to share information about how to access a list of the school’s direct investment holdings, with more frequent updates.
“Additionally, the University offered to convene a faculty committee to address academic freedom and to begin a discussion on access and financial barriers to academic programs and global centers. The University also offered to make investments in health and education in Gaza, including supporting early childhood development and support for displaced scholars,” her statement continued. “There are important ideas that emerged from this dialogue, and we plan to explore pursuing them in the future.”
Columbia students file class-action lawsuit
A group of students filed a class-action lawsuit Monday against the university, saying it needs to ban students and “outside agitators” who are inciting violence.
Meanwhile, a group of Democrats in Congress told Columbia’s Board of Trustees to take action, saying the encampment violates federal law.
The group, led by New York Rep. Dan Goldman and New Jersey Rep. Josh Gottheimer, sent a letter, reading in part, “For the past few weeks, this encampment has been the breeding ground for antisemitic attacks on Jewish students,” adding that fear has prevented many from safely attending class or leaving their dorm rooms, which the lawmakers say violates Title 5 of the Civil Rights Act.
“We will indeed hold a commencement”
Despite the ongoing tensions on campus, graduation will be held as planned on May 15, the president said in her statement. The encampment currently sits right beside the school’s commencement site.
“We also do not want to deprive thousands of students and their families and friends of a graduation celebration. Please recall that many in this graduating class did not get a celebration when graduating from high school because of the pandemic, and many of them are the first in their families to earn a University degree,” the president wrote in her statement. “We owe it to all of our graduates and their loved ones to honor their achievement. We want to reassure our community who are trying to make plans that we will indeed hold a Commencement.”
Monday is the last day of classes on campus, and students will spend the rest of the week studying for their final exams, which start Friday. The university previously announced the exams must include a remote option for those who have requested support.
Encampment set up at Rutgers University
Students at Rutgers University set up an encampment at the New Brunswick campus on Monday after first holding a rally and then marching to the location.
They’re trying to get the attention of the university’s Board of Governors and the Joint Committee on Investments after they felt their request for the school to divest from Israel was ignored at a meeting on Thursday.
Earlier this month, more than 6,000 students voted in favor of a referendum calling on university administrators to withdraw investments in Israel and cancel the school’s partnership with Tel Aviv University. More than 1,500 voted against the idea.
There are 44,000 students enrolled in New Brunswick. Those who spoke to CBS New York at Monday’s rally declined to go on camera.
“I’m here to support our students, all of them, and to see what our students are going with, what they feel passionate about, and also, I believe in the cause, the idea of divesting being an important part to move our university toward a more moral position,” said Kaiser Aslam, Muslim chaplain of the Rutgers Center for Islamic Life.
“I am Jewish and in terms of antisemitism at these rallies, I have never felt as safe anywhere as I do at these rallies. I have never felt as embraced as I do at these rallies,” another student said.
Rutgers says the request is under review and that the school’s president, who has no direct role in the investment process, has made clear his personal opposition to the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement, and his support for the relationship with Tel Aviv University.
On Monday’s rally he said, in part, “Our students want to make a difference in a struggle that has cost far too many innocent lives and that threatens so many more. I respect their right to protest in ways that do not interfere with university operations or with the ability of their fellow students to learn.”
