A 2:00 pm deadline came and went on Monday, April 29, 2024 -- with anti-Israel protesters still in place at Columbia University.
© Kevin R. Wexler / NorthJersey.com + © Jack Gruber-USA TODAY / USA TODAY NETWORK
(New York, NY) – Despite a two o’clock pm deadline set by university officials, the tent encampment protest remains in place at Columbia’s campus in Morningside Heights. The group has been in place for the better part of two weeks, as part of an anti-Israel / pro-Palestine protest. University officials, including president Minouche Shafik, delivered a letter to the group Monday morning. It warned that protesters would face suspension next school year if they refused to disperse.
A couple weeks back upward of 100 protesters were arrested on campus when university officials asked the NYPD to respond and break up the encampment. But that didn’t last as the tents returned and protesters vowed they would stay unless their fellow students were offered “amnesty” in terms of any future suspension or legal consequences. Big picture, the protest calls on Columbia University to “divest” of any companies associated with Israel.
As Shafik set the 2:00 pm deadline for Monday she indicated that negotiations between the protest group and school officials had reached a standstill.
