Students who occupied a “campus” building, blocking the entrances and displaying a Palestinian flag, received a new threat from the university, this time of expulsion.
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Columbia University threatened this Tuesday to expel students who occupied a building on its “campus” in New York, United States, blocking the entrances and displaying a Palestinian flag, demonstrating against Israel’s war against Hamas.
Building Occupancy: Where Protesters ignored an ultimatum to leave a tent camp on Monday under threat of suspension. – developed as other universities stepped up efforts to break up activist encampments, with the help of police.
Protesters at Columbia University took over a building
In a statement, Columbia University spokesperson Ben Chang left a message for the students who camped out in the center of the “campus” a few days ago.
“Students occupying the building face expulsion”Chang warned, adding that those others who did not accept the negotiating terms established on Monday would be suspended.
“The protesters chose to aggravate an unsustainable situation – destroying property, breaking into doors and windows and blocking entrances – and we are consistent with the promise we made yesterday,” the spokesperson explained.
The University’s public safety department said in another statement that Access to the “campus” was limited to students living in residential buildings and employees..
New York Police Department Chief Jeffrey Maddrey, during a press conference, clarified that his officers would not enter the Columbia “campus” without a request from the university administration.
The protesters insisted that they will remain in place until the university accepts three demands: Divestment, financial transparency and amnesty..
Several universities in different cities in the United States are debating how to clear students camping in protest as graduation ceremonies approach, with some negotiations underway and other institutions resorting to police force and ultimatums resulting in confrontations with officers of security.
Dozens of people were arrested Monday during protests at universities in Texas, Utah, Virginia and New Jersey, while Columbia University announced it had begun suspending students after calling police to clear students camped in the plaza. central of the city.
Yale and New Haven police also surrounded the encampment in the university’s central plaza, explaining that anyone found within the blocked off area would be subject to arrest and suspension if they did not leave.
Also on Tuesday, police entered an encampment at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and at the University of Connecticut, officers ordered protesters to remove their tents.
At California Polytechnic State University in Humboldt, where protesters occupied two buildings, dozens of police with helmets and batons entered the “campus” Tuesday morning, removed students from two hallways and detained 25 people.
At Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, police and protesters clashed Monday night as officers dismantled tents, attacked the line of protesters and used chemical agents to disperse the crowd.
Faced with this situation, the office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, expressed concern about police measures to demobilize students from North American universities, while stressing that anti-Semites, anti-Arabs and anti-Palestinians were “totally unacceptable.” ”
Source: Observadora
