NEW YORK (AP) — Dozens of protesters occupied a Columbia University building Tuesday, barricading the entrance and unfurling a Palestinian flag from a window. Demonstration against Israel-Hamas war on college campuses across the country. The school promised to expel them.
Occupation on New York campuses — a place ignored by protesters previous ultimatum The question of whether to abandon the tent camp or face suspension on Monday unfolded as other universities stepped up efforts to end the protests. Police raided some campuses, leading to clashes and arrests. In rare cases, university officials and protest leaders have struck agreements to limit disruption of campus life.
and as ceasefire negotiations Although momentum appeared to be building, it is unclear whether these talks will help ease the protests on campus.
Protesters at Columbia University's Manhattan campus locked up their weapons early Tuesday and moved furniture and metal barricades into Hamilton Hall between several buildings. which was occupied During the 1968 civil rights movement and anti-Vietnam War protests. Protest organizers posted on Instagram just after midnight urging people to protect the camp and join Hamilton Hall. A banner reading “Liberate Palestine'' hung in the window.
On Tuesday, protest group CU Apartheid Divest took to social media to refer to the building as Hinds Hall. killed in Gaza under Israeli fire.
“Students occupying buildings may be subject to expulsion,” Columbia University spokesman Ben Chan said in a statement Tuesday. He said the university gave the protesters the opportunity to leave peacefully and finish the semester, but those who did not agree to the terms would be suspended and have restricted access to all academic and recreational spaces. He said he was only allowed to enter the residence. Seniors are not eligible for graduation.
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“Protesters have chosen to escalate into an intolerable situation, including destroying property, breaking doors and windows, and blocking entrances, and we are implementing the consequences we outlined yesterday,” he said. Ta.
A spokesperson for CU Apartheid Divest said in a press conference Tuesday afternoon that the school had recently learned that some students had been suspended for protesting. She declined to give her name, but she said she is a suspended graduate student at Columbia University and she is not allowed to return to campus.
She stressed that she did not represent the students who occupied the administration building, but vowed that their resolve would not waver, even if their educations and careers were at risk.
“We are willing to take very small risks compared to what the heroic people of Gaza face every day,” she said.
After that, the tent encampment was quiet and almost empty. A small group of protesters chanted behind the university's locked gates.
Access to campus was limited to students living in residential buildings and essential employees, with one access point on and off campus. New York City Police Chief Jeffrey Madley said officers will not enter Columbia University's campus unless requested by university authorities or there is an immediate emergency.
Among the students suspended by Columbia University on Tuesday was Mahmoud Khalil, who served as the school's chief negotiator until negotiations with the government collapsed over the weekend. His suspension letter, which he shared with The Associated Press, said he refused to leave the encampment after receiving advance warning. Khalil said he complied with the university's request to vacate the lawn by the Monday afternoon deadline.
The protesters say they will remain at the venue until the university agrees to three demands: Divestment, financial transparency And pardon.
Ilana Lukovic, a self-described “left-wing Zionist” student at Columbia University, said she has found it difficult to concentrate at school in recent weeks amid calls for Zionists to die and be removed from campus. Ms. Lukovic, who identifies as Jewish, believes the current pro-Palestinian protests are encouraging people like her to be more open to people who criticize Israel's war policies but believe that the state of Israel should exist. She said she hopes it will be better.
“I took an exam yesterday, and yesterday was my final exam, and the noise around me was, 'Say it loud, say it clearly, we want the Zionists out of here,'” he said, recalling the nerves he learned at Columbia University's Tel Aviv campus. said the science student. “I have a final exam today and tomorrow, so I can't go to the library.''
The campus conflict has raised concerns in the White House. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said President Joe Biden believes student occupations of school buildings are “completely the wrong approach” and “not an example of peaceful protest.” . New York Gov. Cathy Hochul, a Democrat, also said that “there must be accountability” for building takeovers, “whether it's disciplinary action from the school or disciplinary action from law enforcement.” Ta.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres told reporters: “It is up to university authorities to have the wisdom to properly manage a situation like the one we have witnessed.”
Protesters occupied two buildings at California State Polytechnic State University, Humboldt, and dozens of police officers wearing helmets and carrying batons marched through the campus, clearing both buildings overnight. The university said 25 people were arrested and no one was injured. The roundup was broadcast on the Facebook page of KAEF-TV, a satellite station of KRCR-TV, until police detained the reporter.
“No one wanted this to happen,” University President Tom Jackson Jr. said in a statement, adding, “This is a serious criminal act that goes far beyond the level of protest. “puts the campus at continued risk.”
Mike McGuire, president pro tempore of the California State Senate, whose district includes the campus, said damage to the campus was estimated at more than $1 million.
Yale University officials cleared the encampment Tuesday morning after protesters heeded a final warning to leave, according to university officials. No arrests were reported. Demonstrators said on social media that they were moving their rally to the sidewalk. The camp was set up Sunday, six days after police arrested nearly 50 people and removed dozens of tents.
Dozens of people were arrested Monday during protests at universities in Texas, Utah, Virginia and New Jersey.
On Tuesday, police cleared a camp at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and detained about 30 people. Protesters later replaced the American flag with the Palestinian flag there. Police later raised the American flag again. Interim Chancellor Lee Roberts told reporters that removing the American flag is “against the nature of” the UNC community. Some students responded by shouting that he “supports the genocide of Palestinians.” Classes have been canceled on Tuesday.
At the University of Connecticut, police arrested protesters after they refused to remove their tents. The downtown campus of Portland State University in Oregon was locked down, where protesters had been demonstrating mostly peacefully until a small group broke into the library late Monday.
The nationwide campus protests began in response to Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip, after Hamas launched deadly attacks in southern Israel on October 7. The insurgents killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took about 250 hostages. Israel, which has vowed to eliminate Hamas, has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, according to the local health ministry.
Israel and its supporters have branded the university protests anti-Semitic, but Israel's critics say they are using these claims to silence opponents. Some protesters have been caught on camera making anti-Semitic remarks and threats of violence, but protest organizers, some of whom are Jewish, say this is in support of Palestinian rights. It claims to be a peaceful movement aimed at protesting the war.
In a rare case, Northwestern University announced it had reached an agreement with students and faculty who represent the majority of protesters at its suburban Chicago campus to allow peaceful demonstrations until the end of spring classes. .
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Mattis reported from Nashville, Tennessee. This report includes Karen Matthews, Jim Bertuno, Hannah Schoenbaum, Sarah Brumfield, Stephanie Dazio, Christopher Weber, Carolyn Thompson, Dave Collins, Makiya Seminella, Philip Marcello, and Corey Williams. Associated Press journalists from across the country, including, contributed.
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This article has been corrected to show that Columbia University is not canceling major commencement events.