Columbia encampments will scale down
Students claim ‘important victory’
Columbia University announced that students had agreed to scale down their encampment Wednesday as protesters across the nation pressed their demands for an end to the civilian casualties in Gaza that have tested the American public’s historically ironclad support for Israel.
Police in Brooklyn arrested demonstrators for disorderly conduct after a street protest reached a standoff days after hundreds of arrests were made at Columbia and New York University. Rallies and encampments have sprung up on campuses from California to Massachusetts this week, sometimes prompting police intervention. The protesters are calling for an end to U.S. military support for Israel and for eliminating Israeli investments.
California’s Cal Poly Humboldt in Arcata was closed Wednesday after pro-Palestinian protesters occupied a campus building. At the University of Minnesota campus in St. Paul, police cleared an encampment at the request of the school, which cited violations of university policy and trespassing law. And in Massachusetts, encampments had been erected at multiple schools, including Tufts University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Emerson College.
The New York chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a Muslim civil rights organization, called on political leaders and university officials to stop “endangering” Jewish, Muslim, Palestinian and other students who are conducting peaceful protests.
“Students should not have to risk their reputation, livelihoods or their safety to speak out against a genocide or their university’s complicity in genocide,” CAIR-NY Executive Director Afaf Nasher said in a statement.
Columbia students claim victory
Columbia student protest organizers said Wednesday that the university has conceded to some demands but that the school continues to put students at risk of attacks.
Earlier, the school issued a statement saying protesters had agreed to remove a “significant” number of tents, allow only students to take part in the encampment, follow city fire safety rules, prohibit discriminatory or harassing language, and “make the encampment welcome to all.” Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine said administrators threatened to bring in police and the National Guard if protesters did not acquiesce to their demands.
The student protest organizers issued a statement that referenced historic actions of American universities against student demonstrators at Jackson State and Kent State, where authorities shot and killed several students more than 50 years ago in protests against the Vietnam War.
“Columbia’s reliance on the threat of state violence against peaceful protesters has created an unstable ground for the negotiations process which will continue over the next 48 hours,” the statement said, referring to a deadline the university has issued. “However, Columbia’s written commitment and concession not to call the NYPD or the National Guard signifies an important victory for students.”
Another encampment set up
Students at Brown University in Rhode Island established an encampment Wednesday, with large signs announcing “Gaza Solidarity Encampment” and “Brown invests in the Palestinian genocide” prominently displayed.
The encampment was set up hours after Provost Francis Doyle sent an email to all students warning that encampments are a violation of university policy and that participants could face disciplinary action “up to and including separation from the institution,” The Brown Daily Herald reported.
University spokesperson Brian Clark told The Herald that protest becomes unacceptable when it violates safety policies or interferes with “regular operations of the university.”
Scores arrested in Brooklyn
In Brooklyn, police arrested scores of people for disorderly conduct after a street protest Tuesday evening. The protesters had gathered in Grand Army Plaza and at the nearby home of Sen. Chuck Schumer, who has led the effort in Congress to send aid to Israel. The protesters, who conducted a Seder dinner outside the home, also were demanding a cease-fire in Gaza.
The New York Police Department said officers arrested 208 demonstrators who blocked traffic at Grand Army Plaza.