Colleges around the U.S. implored pro-Palestinian student protesters to clear out tent encampments with rising levels of urgency Monday, with more arrests being made at the University of Texas and an ultimatum from Columbia University for students to sign a form and leave the encampment by the afternoon or face suspension.
Quick Read
- Nationwide Protests and Arrests: Pro-Palestinian protests at U.S. universities have led to increased arrests, including recent incidents at the University of Texas and ongoing defiance at Columbia University against campus demands to dismantle protest encampments.
- University of Texas Confrontation: At the University of Texas, Austin, law enforcement arrested six protesters as Governor Greg Abbott reinforced a strict no-encampment policy, escalating the university’s efforts to quell demonstrations.
- Columbia University Ultimatum: Columbia University issued a stern ultimatum to protesters: dismantle the encampment by the afternoon deadline and sign a compliance agreement or face suspension. Despite this, protesters remained past the deadline, continuing their demonstration.
- Expanding Impact and Responses: The movement has not only persisted but expanded, with demonstrations spreading to other prestigious institutions like Harvard, Yale, and the University of Pennsylvania, and even reaching Europe, with French police clearing protesters from the Sorbonne.
- Academic and Operational Disruptions: The ongoing protests have disrupted academic schedules and campus operations, prompting universities like the University of Southern California to cancel major events like graduation ceremonies.
- Negotiations and Administrative Actions: Some universities are attempting to negotiate with protesters; for example, Brown University’s president offered to discuss divestment demands in exchange for ending the encampment.
- Future of Protests and University Responses: Universities are grappling with how to manage the protests while maintaining campus order and security, with some offering alternative venues for demonstrations post-exams and graduation, highlighting the complex balance between upholding free speech and ensuring campus safety.
- Defiance of Campus Orders: Despite the administration’s demands, pro-Palestinian protesters voted to remain in their encampment, continuing their demonstration against university and external pressures.
- Columbia University Suspensions: Columbia University has started suspending students who did not comply with the administration’s 2 p.m. ET deadline to vacate an on-campus encampment. These students are now barred from completing the semester, graduating, and accessing university housing and academic buildings.
- Disciplinary Procedures: The university’s Vice President of Public Affairs, Ben Chang, outlined that disciplinary actions are handled by various units within the university, depending on the nature of the offense, with the Office of University Life and the university’s senate primarily overseeing the process.
- Appeal Process: Chang explained that decisions by the Office of University Life can be appealed to the dean of the student’s school, while decisions made by the senate can escalate to a panel of deans and, if necessary, to the university president.
- Reason for Encampment Removal: The removal of the encampment was partly to ensure that Columbia’s commencement ceremony for its 15,000 graduates could proceed without disruptions.
- Continued Defiance by Students: Despite the university’s ultimatum, students at Columbia, a central site for the weeklong pro-Palestinian protests, voted earlier to defy the order and maintain their encampment.
The Associated Press has the story:
Police arrest pro-Palestine protesters in Austin Univ., Columbia Univ. is suspending students
Newslooks- NEW YORK (AP) —
Colleges around the U.S. implored pro-Palestinian student protesters to clear out tent encampments with rising levels of urgency Monday, with more arrests being made at the University of Texas and an ultimatum from Columbia University for students to sign a form and leave the encampment by the afternoon or face suspension.
Protesters who returned to the University of Texas at Austin on Monday were quickly greeted by dozens of law enforcement officers, many in riot gear. Six protesters were quickly arrested and others were taken into custody one by one.
Republican Gov. Greg Abbott on social media reposted video of troopers arriving on the 50,000-student campus. “No encampments will be allowed. Instead, arrests are being made,” Abbott posted.
Just last week, hundreds of police — including some on horseback and holding batons — pushed into protesters at the university, sending some tumbling into the street. Officers made 34 arrests at the behest of the university and Abbott, according to the state Department of Public Safety.
In New York, Columbia activists defied the 2 p.m. deadline to respond to the ultimatum with chants, clapping and drumming from the encampment of more than 300 people. No officials appeared to enter the encampment, with at least 120 tents staying up as the deadline passed. Hundreds of protesters marched around the quad, weaving around piles of temporary flooring and green carpeting meant for graduation ceremonies. A handful of counter-demonstrators waved Israeli flags, and one held a sign reading, “Where are the anti-Hamas chants?”
Columbia University has begun suspending student protesters who refused to vacate the on-campus encampment by the 2 p.m. ET deadline set by the administration.
These students will not be eligible to complete the semester or graduate and won’t be allowed in university housing and academic buildings, the New York-based university said.
“Once disciplinary action is initiated, adjudication is handled by several different units within the university based on the nature of the offense,” Vice President of Public Affairs Ben Chang said during a briefing Monday evening.
The two bodies overseeing this disciplinary process are the Office of University Life and the university’s senate, a policy-making group that represents students and faculty.
“Decisions made by the Office of University Life can be appealed to the dean of the student’s school,” said Chang. “Decisions made by the senate can be appealed to a panel of deans and, ultimately, the university’s president.”
Chang added that the university asked student protesters to remove the encampment, in part, to make sure that the university’s commencement ceremony for its 15,000 graduates can continue as planned.
The students at Columbia, the epicenter of the weeklong pro-Palestinian protests, had earlier voted to defy the order and stay.
Pro-Palestinian protesters voted to defy the campus order to vacate and stay in the encampment.
The notice sent by the Ivy League university in Manhattan said that if protesters left by the deadline and signed a form committing to abide by university policies through June 2025 or an earlier graduation, they could finish the semester in good standing. If not, the letter said, they would be suspended, pending further investigation.
Early protests at Columbia, where demonstrators set up tents in the center of the campus, sparked the pro-Palestinian demonstrations across the country. Students and others have been sparring over the Israel-Hamas war and its mounting death toll. Many students are demanding their universities cut financial ties with Israel. The number of arrests at campuses nationwide is approaching 1,000. The protests have even spread to Europe, with French police removing dozens of students from the Sorbonne university after pro-Palestinian protesters occupied the main courtyard.
College classes are wrapping up for the semester, and campuses are preparing for graduation ceremonies, giving schools an extra incentive to clear encampments. The University of Southern California canceled its main graduation ceremony.
But students have dug in their heels at some high-profile universities, with standoffs also continuing at Harvard, the University of Pennsylvania, Yale and others.
Protesters at Yale set up a new camp with dozens of tents Sunday, nearly a week after police arrested nearly 50 and cleared a similar one nearby. They were notified by a Yale official that they could face discipline, including suspension, and possible arrest if they continued.
Yale said in a statement Monday that while it supports peaceful protests and freedom of speech, it does not tolerate policy violations such as the encampment. School officials said that the protest is near residential colleges where many students are studying for final exams, and that permission must be granted for groups to hold events and put up structures on campus.
At Brown University in Rhode Island, meanwhile, school President Christina H. Paxton offered protest leaders the chance to meet with officials to discuss their arguments for divestment from Israel-linked companies in exchange for ending an encampment.
In the letter to student protesters at Columbia, school officials noted that exams are beginning and graduation is upcoming.
“We urge you to remove the encampment so that we do not deprive your fellow students, their families and friends of this momentous occasion,” the letter said.
Under the terms spelled out in the letter, students who leave the encampment would be put on disciplinary probation through June 2025. Students who are already receiving discipline, or who face harassment or discrimination charges for actions in the encampment, are not eligible for the offer.
The demonstrations have led Columbia to hold remote classes. The school said in an email to students that bringing back police “at this time” would be counterproductive. The university said it will offer an alternative venue for the protests after exams and graduation.
Columbia’s handling of the protests has prompted federal complaints.
A class-action lawsuit on behalf of Jewish students alleges a breach of contract by Columbia, claiming the university failed to maintain a safe learning environment, despite policies and promises. It also challenges the move away from in-person classes and seeks quick court action requiring Columbia to provide security for the students.
Meanwhile, a legal group representing pro-Palestinian students is urging the U.S. Department of Education’s civil rights office to investigate Columbia’s compliance with the Civil Rights Act of 1964 for how they have been treated.
A university spokesperson declined to comment on the complaints.
The plight of students who have been arrested has become a central part of protests, with the students and a growing number of faculty demanding amnesty for protesters. At issue is whether the suspensions and legal records will follow students through their adult lives.
Demonstrators on other campuses, meanwhile, said they would stand firm. Jacob Ginn, a second-year University of North Carolina sociology graduate student, said he had been protesting at the encampment for four days, including negotiations with administrators Friday.
“We are prepared for everything and we will remain here until the university meets our demands and we will remain steadfast and strong in the face of any brutality and repression that they try to attack us with,” Ginn said in reference to a potential police sweep of the encampment.
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