Sunday, April 21, 2024

Mass arrests at Columbia spark solidarity protests on college campuses across the US

Jessica Schladebeck,
 New York Daily News
Sat, April 20, 2024


Tents and demonstrations are popping up on college campuses across the country after Columbia University students’ protest of the war in Gaza resulted in the arrests of more than 100 people.

Pro-Palestinian students and faculty — among others, including students from NYU — kicked off their demonstrations on Wednesday, erecting tents and posting signs on Columbia’s campus in upper Manhattan.

Their ongoing efforts, dubbed the Gaza Solidarity Encampment, are in protest of “continued financial investment in corporations that profit from Israeli apartheid, genocide, and military occupation of Palestine,” according to a news release from its organizers, the Columbia University Apartheid Divest, a student-led coalition of more than 100 different organizations.

On Thursday, hundreds of NYPD officers descended on Columbia’s South Lawn in Morningside Heights at the request of President Minouche Shafik. They arrested 108 people, all of whom are now facing trespassing charges. Two of them were additionally hit with counts of obstructing police.

The protesters, however, have remained undeterred and their on-campus occupation continued on Saturday. Their resolve has since inspired others to take action against the war in Gaza, including the Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, who launched a rally of their own on Friday.

The UNC SJP said they “stand in solidarity with Columbia students who were unjustly detained for peaceful protesting by setting up an encampment on their own university.” They said they were immediately informed that erecting their own tents were in violation of campus policy.

“In an attempt to avoid their tents from being seized, students put their tents on chairs as to ‘comply’ with administration,” the SJP said. “When police and UNC facility crew came to forcibly remove the tents, protestors collectively lifted up their tents and marched around the quad.”

Hundreds of miles away, the SJP at Ohio State announced their own “emergency rally in solidarity with Columbia students.” Despite efforts from the administration to quash the demonstration in New York, the group said, “Columbia students have bravely occupied their campus in peaceful protest.”

The Boston University SJP similarly praised those occupying the Columbia campus while announcing an “emergency protest.”

“What is happening at Columbia University is but a microcosm of a larger war being waged on campuses across North America — a war waged by a fascist, McCarthyst ruling elite long hellbent on destroying our movement for Palestinian liberation,” the group said on social media. “They will fail in their efforts, and we will be victorious. Until then, the struggle continues.”

Harvard’s Palestine Solidarity Committee meanwhile announced a student walkout “in solidarity with steadfast Columbia students.”

“We stand in solidarity with Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine while remaining firm in our calls for Harvard to DIVEST from the occupation of Palestine,” the group said.

Yale students, who have been staging their own demonstrations all week, also voiced their support while calling on their administrators to pull their money from military weapons manufacturers.

The series of protests and demonstrations are only the latest in the months since Hamas terrorists invaded Israel in the early hours of Oct. 7. The group launched thousands of rockets from the Gaza Strip, clearing the way for hundreds of armed terrorists to devastate neighborhoods and military bases along Israel’s southern border. Some 1,200 people were killed during the initial raid.

The attack triggered an onslaught of Israeli airstrikes and ground assaults, resulting in the deaths of at least 34,000 Palestinians, according to figures from the Gaza Health Ministry.

Pro-Palestinian protesters call for change at Columbia University

Students at more universities announce solidarity rallies after 108 pro-Palestinian activists are arrested at Columbia
CNN
Sun, April 21, 2024 

Despite more than 100 arrests on Thursday, pro-Palestinian demonstrators aren’t ending their protest on the campus of New York’s Columbia University.


Dalia Faheid, Caroll Alvarado and John Towfighi, CNN
Fri, April 19, 2024

Dozens of activists denouncing Israel’s war in Gaza remain camped out on the West Lawn of Columbia University on Friday, a day after New York City police arrested more than 100 people on suspicion of criminal trespass during a pro-Palestinian demonstration on the campus.

Now, students at several other universities are planning rallies in solidarity with the Columbia University demonstrators.

The University of North Carolina Students for Justice in Palestine is holding a solidarity rally Friday. The Boston University Students for Justice in Palestine announced an “emergency rally.” The Students for Justice in Palestine at The Ohio State University announced an “emergency protest supporting Gaza solidarity encampment.” And the Harvard College Palestine Solidarity Committee announced a student walkout “in solidarity with steadfast Columbia students.”

Demonstrators at Columbia were “peacefully protesting for divestment from genocide,” said one of the organizers, Columbia University Apartheid Divest.

At least 33,797 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since Israel’s war against Hamas started in October, according to figures from the enclave’s health ministry. Israel launched ongoing attacks in Gaza after a spate of Hamas attacks in Israel that killed 1,200 people in October.

New York City police officers in riot gear stand guard as demonstrators chant slogans outside the Columbia University campus on Thursday in New York.
 - Mary Altaffer/AP

What spurred the arrests at Columbia

Columbia University President Nemat “Minouche” Shafik sent a letter Thursday to NYPD requesting they remove people who were occupying the South Lawn of the university’s campus after being told that they “are in violation of the University’s rules and policies” and are trespassing, according to the letter, which was released by the university.

More than 108 arrests were made, New York City Mayor Eric Adams said in a news conference Thursday evening.

The protest and arrests at Columbia come as universities across the nation grapple with how to respond to the hundreds of protests and counterprotests held by students on campuses since the war in Gaza began.

Here’s what we know about the protest at Columbia and subsequent arrests so far:
Why students are protesting

The protests began Wednesday. Pro-Palestinian students, faculty and others set up tents and signs that morning on the campus in upper Manhattan on a day that Shafik, the university president, was in Washington, DC, to testify to a House committee over the school’s response to antisemitism.

The encampment was organized by Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD) – a student-led coalition of more than 100 organizations – Students for Justice in Palestine, and Jewish Voice for Peace, to protest what they describe as the university’s “continued financial investment in corporations that profit from Israeli apartheid, genocide, and military occupation of Palestine,” according to CUAD’s news release.

“The Gaza Solidarity Encampment was established to pressure Columbia to divest all funds, including the endowment, from corporations that profit from Israeli apartheid, genocide and military occupation in Palestine,” the release said.

CNN sought comment from Columbia University and the university’s Advisory Committee on Socially Responsible Investing for more information on their investments and for comment on the protest organizers’ allegations.

Ry, a senior at Columbia who declined to provide his last name to protect his identity, told CNN he had been camping at the campus before arrests began.

“We as students are using our privilege to stand for people who have been oppressed for far too long and we hope other universities take the call and do the same,” said Ry, who is a member of Jewish Voice for Peace.

Isra Hirsi, the daughter of Rep. Ilhan Omar, was among those arrested Thursday, a police official told CNN. The official said Hirsi is being processed and will likely receive a summons for a criminal trespass charge then be released from custody.

Hirsi, an organizer with Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine, said earlier Thursday she and two other students at Barnard College – located across the street from Columbia University – were suspended for participating in pro-Palestinian protests.

“Columbia has shown over and over again that they don’t care about student rights, they don’t care about student voices, they don’t care about student safety,” protester Aidan Parisi told CNN affiliate WCBS.

University president asked NYPD to remove demonstrators

Shafik wrote a letter to the NYPD on Thursday asking for the department’s help to “remove these individuals,” and said those students occupying the South Lawn of the university’s Morningside Heights campus had been informed of their suspension.

“The actions of these individuals are in violation of University rules and policies,” the president told police in the letter. “The University provided multiple notices and warnings and informed the encampment participants that they must disperse or face immediate discipline.”

In an email to students obtained by CNN, Shafik said Thursday that she authorized the move “out of an abundance of concern for the safety of Columbia’s campus.”

“I took this extraordinary step because these are extraordinary circumstances,” Shafik wrote. “The individuals who established the encampment violated a long list of rules and policies.”

Calling the protest a “disturbance,” Adams said in a news conference Thursday evening that the protesters violated university rules and that “NYPD officers moved in to ensure the safety of the campus, the students and the staff.” He added that, “the NYPD assured there was no violence or injuries” during the protest.

“The students that were arrested were peaceful, offered no resistance whatsoever and were saying what they wanted to say in a peaceful manner,” added John Chell, NYPD Chief of Patrol.

Most of the people taken into custody will be summoned for trespassing, while two people were charged with trespass as well as obstruction of governmental administration, authorities said at the news conference.

In the past, the office of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has declined to prosecute or deferred prosecution cases where large numbers of people were arrested as part of civil disobedience.

The arrests came a day after Shafik testified over the university’s response to antisemitism during a House Committee on Education and the Workforce hearing. The university faced criticism for its handling of antisemitic incidents on campus and for hiring a professor who allegedly expressed support for Hamas on social media. That professor has been fired, Shafik said Wednesday.

In her testimony, Shafik said the core of the university’s mission is to “ensure that all members of our community may engage in our cherished traditions of free expression and open debate,” quoting from the school’s rules of university conduct.
How the protests at Columbia unfolded


Police officers stand near tents erected by pro-Palestinian protesters on the South Lawn at Columbia University in New York, on Thursday.
 - C.S. MUNCY/The New York Times/Redux

Competing pro-Palestine and pro-Israel rallies grew into Wednesday afternoon as more protesters gathered after the hearing.

Several people waving Palestinian flags shouted at police officers, who had begun boxing the protesters in with barricades, CNN affiliate WCBS reported.

During Wednesday’s protests, Columbia closed the gates to campus, only allowing people with university IDs to enter. Many of the pro-Palestinian protesters affiliated with Columbia camped on the campus overnight.

Four people were arrested overnight during the protests, the NYPD said. Police did not specify what charges were filed and gave no additional details about the arrests.

The NYPD used bullhorns on Thursday to tell protesters they would be arrested unless they dispersed immediately. Large crowds of Columbia students on the perimeter refused to leave and chanted “Shame on you!” and “the students united will never be defeated.”

Shortly after 2 p.m. Thursday, a group of at least 200 protesters moved to an area about two blocks away from the school campus near the NYPD staging site and police said they would soon disperse the crowd, CNN witnessed. Officers in helmets, carrying batons, were seen lining up in the street surrounding the group.

Online video appears to show NYPD officers arresting pro-Palestinian protesters outside Columbia University early Thursday morning. Detained students were escorted off campus by the NYPD in zip tie handcuffs.
The university warned of suspension

In a Wednesday letter to students, Columbia University officials said participation in the encampment and refusal to leave the campus would result in suspension for students involved.

“If you are a Columbia student and you do not adhere to this final request by 9:00 p.m. today, April 17, 2024, the University will take the interim measure of suspending you pending investigation for possible violation of multiple University policies,” the university said in the letter.

“During the suspension, you may not go to class or hand in work related to courses and therefore may not be able to complete your current courses. Your CUID will be deactivated, you will not have access to classrooms and other parts of campus and may not participate in University activities.”

CNN’s Shimon Prokupecz, Emma Tucker, John Miller, Alaa Elassar and Melissa Alonso contributed to this report.





Pro-Palestinian Columbia Protests Continue After Arrests

Sanya Mansoor
Fri, April 19, 2024 

Students occupy the campus ground of Columbia University in support of Palestinians in New York City, on April 19, 2024. 
Credit - Alex Kent — AFP/Getty Images

One day after Columbia University called on law enforcement to arrest more than 100 pro-Palestinian protesters, students continued to occupy part of the campus lawn.

Dozens of police stood outside the university gates on Friday. Inside, it looks like a massive picnic. Chants from the loudspeaker go between “Free Palestine” and reminders to clean up and get food if protesters get hungry.

Marie Adele Grosso, a 19-year-old Barnard College student was among those arrested Thursday. She was back at the encampment Friday, wearing a keffiyeh, despite receiving an email telling her she was currently suspended on an interim basis. The college has not yet determined whether she has violated the Barnard College Student Code of Conduct.

Grosso says she is banned from campus housing, cannot use her meal plan and is unsure where she will stay for the night. University officials say she has 15 minutes to collect her belongings. But she’s determined to keep protesting. “The only moral thing is to do whatever we can,” she says.

Not everyone is on her side. Avi Lichtschein, a pro-Israeli protester, showed up outside the campus gates with an Israeli flag and his dog. “The days of Jewish people or Israeli people feeling intimidated are over. You can have your rally, it’s wonderful. I can hold my Israeli flag,” he says. Lichtschein, who grew up in New York and has relatives in Israel, says he is planning to move to Israel with his family in the near future. “It’s not out of fear, it’s more a sense of supreme pride,” he says. There are only a handful of counter-protesters; they are vastly outnumbered by hundreds of pro-Palestinian supporters.

A spokesperson for Columbia University said Friday that students who participated in the encampment are suspended but did not provide an exact number. “We are continuing to identify them and will be sending out formal notifications,” they said.

The spokesperson also stated that the encampment has been dismantled and they expect protests to continue. “We have rules regarding the time, place and manner that apply to protest activity and we will continue to enforce those,” the spokesperson said. While the tents are no longer set up, protesters appear to still have plans to sleep on the lawn. A large pile of blankets and sleeping bags sit on a blue tarp.

Read More: USC Faces Backlash Over Alleged ‘Censorship’ of Pro-Palestinian Valedictorian’s Speech

The New York Police Department arrested 113 people on Thursday. Charges included resisting arrest, obstructing governmental administration and disorderly conduct. The police were invited onto campus by President of Columbia, Minouche Shafik.

Shafik wrote in an April 18 letter to the New York City Police Department that the “encampment raises safety concerns for the individuals involved and the entire community.”

Police maintained that the protest was peaceful. “The students that were arrested were peaceful, offered no resistance whatsoever and were saying what they wanted to say in a peaceful manner,” said John Chell, NYPD Chief of Patrol. After police arrested students on Thursday, more protesters took their place in campus demonstrations. Some of those who were arrested returned.

The arrests marked the first time the university has called the cops on student protesters since 1968, during anti-war protests against the Vietnam War.

Isra Hirsi, the daughter of Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, posted on X Thursday that she was 1 of 3 Barnard College students who were suspended. Hirsi is an organizer with Columbia University Apartment Divest, a coalition of student organizations calling for Columbia to divest in Israel.

On Wednesday, Rep. Ilhan Omar grilled Shafik during a congressional hearing about antisemitism. Omar asked about an alleged chemical attack on pro-Palestinian protesters, as well as why students had been evicted and harassed. “There has been a rise in targeting and harassment against antiwar protesters,” Omar said Thursday.

Shafik said at Wednesday’s congressional hearing that the university had suspended 15 students. “Antisemitism has no place on our campus, and I am personally committed to doing everything I can to confront it directly,” she said.

Despite the arrests Thursday and requests from Shafik to disperse students, demonstrations continued Friday, with no signs of letting up.

Around 5 p.m., a few dozen Muslims prayed on the lawn; some used the Keffiyeh as a hijab. Their non-Muslim peers surrounded them with blankets to give them privacy.

Eliette, a graduate student at the Columbia School of Social Work and non-binary queer Korean, got arrested Thursday. (They asked for their surname to be withheld out of fear of getting doxxed.) “The NYPD said there were no threats; that says it all,” they said at the encampment on Friday. The protester says the movement has been “full of joy and camaraderie.” They say it was important to them not to be on the wrong side of history and mention that being an American citizen and living off-campus helps them feel more protected.

The Columbia Spectator’s editorial board slammed the university administration Thursday for “conflating pro-Palestinian campus activism with antisemitism” and failing to protect students. “Hundreds of campus affiliates stood witness as the NYPD disgracefully arrested over 100 of our classmates, friends, and colleagues for peacefully protesting,” they wrote.

At least three legal observers were arrested, according to Columbia University Apartheid Divest. They accused police of denying access to health services for a student who fainted outside of the encampment. The NYPD did not respond to a request to comment about these incidents.

Shafik said in an April 18 statement that she called law enforcement “out of an abundance of concern for the safety of Columbia’s campus.”

Celeste, an Arab Columbia University student, said Thursday during a press conference that the university’s response to protests made her feel unsafe. “Whose safety are we prioritizing when we call the police on campus?” she said. “It just seems at this point that Arab students are valued as less.” (Celeste asked to withhold her last name out of concern for her safety.)

Ilan Cohen, a Jewish Columbia student, said at the press conference that he is “horrified” by the implications these “crackdowns carry for (his) own safety.”

“The idea that censorship, repression, silencing, firing are occurring on our campus in the name of my safety doesn't make me safe. It alienates me,” Cohen said. “If anything. I'm part of a growing group of young American Jews who are horrified and the actions of today solidified that beyond belief.”

Congressman Jamaal Bowman said at a Friday press conference that Columbia appears to be folding to pressure from right-wing Republicans to suppress freedom of expression. “Bringing in the NYPD to arrest students demonstrating for peace leads us down a very, very dark path,” he said.

Maryam Alwan, a Palestinian American and lead organizer of Columbia University’s Students for Justice in Palestine chapter, first arrived at the encampment at 4 a.m. Wednesday, ahead of Shafiq’s testimony before Congress. “I have never had such a communal experience in my entire life,” she says.

Alwan feels that the entire student body is enraged. “They’re losing control because we’ve been watching a genocide unfold on our screens every single day and they have ignored every Democratic means by which we have tried to make our voices heard,” she says. (Israel denies that a genocide is occuring but South Africa has brought a case of genocide to the International Court of Justice. )

Alwan says students watched a Palestinian film on a projection screen and people danced. Alwan keeps refreshing her email inbox, nervous that she may receive a suspension notification. So far, she has not. “I’m probably going to join the camp, regardless of whether or not I’m suspended,” she says.

Write to Sanya Mansoor at sanya.mansoor@time.com.

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