Columbia University gives ultimatum to pro-Palestinian protestors

NEW YORK CITY – Pro-Palestinian students camping out in tents at Columbia University have been given an ultimatum by the university: vacate their encampment by 2 p.m. Monday or face suspension, according to a letter distributed to students.
The warning comes after President Minouche Shafik said that while the institution would not divest from Israel, it had offered to expedite reviews of new proposals for socially responsible investment in response to demands made by protestors. However, negotiations regarding dismantling the encampment were continuing despite an early Friday deadline expiring with no resolution.
The letter contained a form requiring students who wish to remain on campus until graduation or earlier completion of their studies to commit themselves to abiding by university policies through June 2025. Failure to do so would result in suspension, pending further investigation.
Columbia officials had previously stated that progress was being made during negotiations with student representatives over the encampment’s dismantlement after over ten hours of discussion on Thursday and another hour held earlier this week. Two police buses were stationed nearby throughout Monday, as well as private security and police at entrances to campus locations.
Meanwhile, protesters clashed outside Columbia University last weekend between opposing sides for Israel and Palestine, with Jewish students raising their voices in support of the country while placing Israeli flags on a separate lawn from where protestors were camped out. The situation was more chaotic at other universities across New York City as protests continued despite classes coming to an end for the semester.
At CCNY (City College of New York) and FIT (Fashion Institute of Technology), encampments supporting Palestine had been set up, with protesters storming a lobby at FIT while security struggled to hold them back. At NYU (New York University), 133 people were arrested on Monday night for disorderly conduct after refusing to leave the protest site; all those detained have since been released and are required to appear in court.
In Connecticut, police apprehended forty-eight protesters at Yale University, including four who weren’t students, as they refused to dismantle their encampment on campus grounds after an ultimatum from university officials was ignored. The Education Department of the United States has launched civil rights investigations into over three dozen colleges and educational establishments across the nation due to accusations related to antisemitism or Islamophobia, including those experiencing protests like Columbia University, Harvard College and other schools affected by student unrest surrounding Palestine’s conflict with Israel.