Columbia University Pro-Palestine Protestors Stand Firm as Impasse Reached in Negotiations, Tensions Rise on Campus and Beyond

Columbia University students behind pro-Palestinian demonstrations spreading nationwide have declared an impasse in negotiations with administrators and vowed to continue their encampment until demands are met. The move puts pressure on university officials ahead of planned graduation ceremonies next month as similar protests occur at universities from California to Massachusetts. While talks reportedly showed progress, police buses remain parked nearby and private security and officers maintain a presence around campus entrances. Student negotiators said that after 12 hours of meetings with administrators they had not secured their primary demand for divestment but made headway on calls for more financial transparency. Jewish students at the university also raised voices in support of Israel, while outside protests turned chaotic as tensions boiled over between pro-Israeli and counter-protesters. Protests have spread to other schools including CCNY and FIT where encampments were established in solidarity with Columbia’s actions. Police reportedly arrested 133 protestors at NYU, while 48 people – four of them non-students – were detained during protests at Yale University earlier this week after refusing to leave an encampment on campus grounds. The US Education Department has launched civil rights investigations into dozens of universities and schools in response to allegations of antisemitism or Islamophobia, affecting several campuses with protest actions, including Harvard and Columbia. Mayor Adams criticized police for being struck by objects during this week’s demonstrations while the Associated Press contributed reporting.