(The Guardian) Columbia university extends deadline for talks to dismantle student protest camps
Columbia University has extended a deadline for talks on dismantling pro-Palestinian protest camps on campus by 48 hours as tension over the Unites States’ handling of the Israel-Gaza war grows.
The New York university has been in talks with student protest leaders to clear the encampment and had originally set a deadline of midnight on Tuesday. Columbia’s president Minouche Shafik warned on Tuesday that the university would “have to consider alternative options for clearing the West Lawn and restoring calm to campus” if discussions failed.
The deadline extension came after students agreed to dismantle a “significant number of tents”, according to the Washington Post. Student negotiators said in a statement that university leaders had threatened to call in the National Guard and NYPD if their demands were not met.
Shafik has faced criticism over her handling of the protests after more than 100 people were arrested at the university last week.
The arrests have since set off a chain of events, including the re-establishment of the encampment and solidarity protests on other US college campuses. Police arrested dozens of people at pro-Palestinian demonstrations at Yale University in Connecticut and New York University in Manhattan on Monday.
The police crackdowns came after Columbia University canceled in-person classes on Monday in response to protesters setting up tent encampments at its New York City campus last week.
Hundreds of faculty members then held a mass walkout to protest against the school president’s decision to have police arrest students at a pro-Palestinian encampment protest last week.
Columbia University has extended a deadline for talks on dismantling pro-Palestinian protest camps on campus by 48 hours as tension over the Unites States’ handling of the Israel-Gaza war grows.
The New York university has been in talks with student protest leaders to clear the encampment and had originally set a deadline of midnight on Tuesday. Columbia’s president Minouche Shafik warned on Tuesday that the university would “have to consider alternative options for clearing the West Lawn and restoring calm to campus” if discussions failed.
The deadline extension came after students agreed to dismantle a “significant number of tents”, according to the Washington Post. Student negotiators said in a statement that university leaders had threatened to call in the National Guard and NYPD if their demands were not met.
Shafik has faced criticism over her handling of the protests after more than 100 people were arrested at the university last week.
The arrests have since set off a chain of events, including the re-establishment of the encampment and solidarity protests on other US college campuses. Police arrested dozens of people at pro-Palestinian demonstrations at Yale University in Connecticut and New York University in Manhattan on Monday.
The police crackdowns came after Columbia University canceled in-person classes on Monday in response to protesters setting up tent encampments at its New York City campus last week.
Hundreds of faculty members then held a mass walkout to protest against the school president’s decision to have police arrest students at a pro-Palestinian encampment protest last week.
