Columbia University’s administration said Tuesday that outside agitators at the ongoing pro-Palestine encampment on their campus grounds need to go immediately.
Representatives of Columbia University held an emergency albeit virtual press conference on April 23 to discuss the pro-Palestine encampment still dug in on campus while downtown, NYU barricaded their campus with plywood after a chaotic clash between protesters and police the night before.
According to Columbia University Vice President of Public Affairs Ben Chang, administrators had been in deep negotiations with protesters until 2 a.m. April 23 in an attempt to resolve what the college themselves state to be a rapidly growing camp. What started with about 100 students last week has blown up to well over twice that size since arrests were made on April 19.
Since last Thursday, Chang says the university has seen evidence of vandalism on school grounds and have observed non-students take up residence on the lawn in the forest of tents.
“We’re also concerned about the presence of non-affiliates, that is people who are not members of the Columbia community, in the encampment and we want them off campus,” Chang said. “Columbia students have the right to protest, but they are not allowed to disrupt campus life or harass and intimidate fellow students and members of our community.”
Chang also noted that the university is continuing to work to “resolve the situation” even as many professors have come out in support of the encampment and their goal for the school to disinvest in entities funding Israel. He added that throughout this process, Columbia University will remain in contact with the mayor’s office.
Columbia University students will continue to join classes virtually until the end of the semester.
Meanwhile in Washington Square Park those who were arrested at NYU encampment joined together to denounce the action taken by the school and police.
Clinging to signs and chanting the group recounted stories from their arrests. However, when members of the media attempted to document the assembly, the protesters became agitated and even attempted to grab at one photographer’s camera.
At the NYU campus itself, large planks of plywood and barricades have been erected around the school’s grounds due to the chaos that ensued during last night’s protests, which resulted in 133 arrests.
