Nationwide campus unrest at Columbia University, USA
Over 100 individuals were arrested at Columbia University, leading to pro-Palestinian protests at various other colleges across the United States.
23 April 2024 20:51
Students at Columbia University, an Ivy League institution in New York, initiated a peaceful protest on campus on April 17. They are calling for a ceasefire in Palestine and for the university to cut ties with American companies engaged in these conflicts, such as arms and ammunition manufacturers. Commentators on social media highlighted that the protest occurred in a specific campus area.
New York university attempts to end student protest
University officials requested the New York police, who typically do not patrol university grounds, to disperse the protesters on April 18. A total of 108 students were arrested for "trespassing." These students had been suspended from student privileges earlier that day, which gave the police the authority to remove them from the university grounds where they studied.
Contrary to the university's intentions, the arrests only amplify the protest. The number of protesting students significantly rose after their peers were detained. On April 21, some professors joined the protest, criticizing the university's treatment of the protesters.
On Monday, April 22, UC President Dr. Minouche Shafik announced that all classes on that day would be held online. The statement conveyed empathy for doubts concerning the use of police against protesters and condemned anti-Semitism. It did not refer to Palestine or the ceasefire.
Anti-Semitism is often cited by those criticizing protests against the Israeli government and military's actions in the Gaza Strip. While anti-Semitism is a serious issue worldwide, rejecting the global consensus to refrain from destroying the Gaza Strip and its inhabitants is not anti-Semitic. Notably, many of the protesters have Jewish heritage.
The Columbia University protests have spread to other colleges in New York State and throughout the United States. On April 22, 47 individuals were arrested at Yale University after they refused to dismantle tents erected as part of the protest. The students were escorted to buses amid loud applause and cheers of support from onlookers.
Protests spilled over from Columbia to other universities in the USA
On the evening of April 22, the New York police intervened at a protest on the New York University (NYU) campus. There, the protesters were peaceful, erected tents, and were encircled by a student cordon, with another layer of non-university individuals separating them from the police. NYU professors and lecturers protected praying Muslim protesters by holding hands. Social media, especially TikTok, has firsthand accounts of university protests.
