OAN’s James Meyers
8:45 AM – Monday, April 29, 2024
Columbia University has officially warned anti-Israel protesters they will be suspended if they do not clear out their tent encampment by 2pm Monday.
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The protestors were given the ultimatum as NYPD buses began arriving at the campus Monday morning.
The announcement comes after the school’s president Minouche Shafik revealed on Monday that talks with anti-Israel protesters had failed and said the school was looking into “internal options to end this crisis as soon as possible.”
“It is important for you to know that the university has already identified many students in the encampment,” a letter warning students of the looming deadline read. “If you do not leave by 2pm, you will be suspended pending further investigation.”
“If you voluntarily leave by 2pm, identify yourself to a university officials, and sign the provided form where you commit to abide by all university policies through June 30, 2025, or the date of the conferral of your degree, whichever is earlier, you will be eligible to complete the semester in good standing,” the letter, shared by the Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine, added.
Meanwhile, Shafik pleaded earlier Monday morning with student protestors to “voluntarily disperse” and to tear down tent encampments that have destroyed the campus for over a week.
The president stated that the protests were making Jewish students feel uncomfortable and out of place, causing many to leave campus, but stopped short of making any apology.
“Regretfully, we were not able to come to an agreement,” Shafik said in a statement.
“We are consulting with a broader group in our community to explore alternative internal options to end this crisis as soon as possible,” she continued, adding that the administration wished protesters “had reached a different outcome.”
Additionally, over 200 protestors were cuffed over the weekend at multiple colleges including Arizona State University, Northeastern University, Indiana University and Washington University.
Republicans and a handful of House Democrats, led by Reps. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.) and Dan Goldman (D-N.Y.) on Monday urged Columbia university to “act decisively” to end the chaos and disband the encampment.
“If any Trustees are unwilling to do this, they should resign so that they can be replaced by individuals who will uphold the University’s legal obligations under Title VI,” the lawmakers wrote in a letter, referring to the federal law that protects students from discrimination.
Furthermore, Shafik said college officials were looking to reach a “collaborative resolution” that would see the encampment disperse and protesters to adhere to certain rules.
“Both sides in these discussions put forward robust and thoughtful offers and worked in good faith to reach common ground. We thank them all for their diligent work, long hours, and careful effort and wish they had reached a different outcome,” she said.
“I know that many of our Jewish students, and other students as well, have found the atmosphere intolerable in recent weeks. Many have left campus, and that is a tragedy,” she said.
Shafik claimed that the school had “no intention of suppressing speech or the right to peaceful protest.”
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