Dozens Arrested In Columbia Protests As NYPD Moves On Campus

MORNINGSIDE HEIGHTS, NY — Dozens of pro-Palestine protesters participating in a multi-day student demonstration at Columbia University were arrested Thursday afternoon, authorities said.

University President Minouche Shafik made the call to clear the campus earlier on Thursday, according to a letter posted to Columbia's website.

"I took this extraordinary step because these are extraordinary circumstances," Shafik wrote. "The individuals who established the encampment violated a long list of rules and policies. Through direct conversations and in writing, the university provided multiple notices of these violations."

"I regret that all of these attempts to resolve the situation were rejected by the students involved," Shafik added. "As a result, NYPD officers are now on campus and the process of clearing the encampment is underway."

You can read the full letter here.

The unfolding chaos prompted predictably polarized reactions from across New York City and beyond.

Several progressive New York City Council members denounced the NYPD’s move onto campus at the behest of Columbia administrators. Council Member Chi Ossé called it “shameful” for cops to crack down on what he characterized as mostly nonviolent student protesters.

“The students have a right to speech and we have an obligation to listen to their call: freedom and dignity for the Palestinian People,” he tweeted. Likewise, Council Member Tiffany Cabán — who also deemed the crackdown “shameful” — tweeted that suspensions and arrests of students, including those who are Jewish, doesn’t combat antisemitism.

“All it does is punish and intimidate those who believe in human rights for Palestinians,” she posted.

Student Suspensions Underway

At least three students — including Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar’s daughter, Isra Hirsi — were suspended as a result of the protest, Hirsi confirmed via X (formerly Twitter). A representative for the Columbia University Apartheid Divest coalition, which organized the demonstration alongside Student Workers of Columbia, told Teen Vogue the number of students suspended indefinitely and evicted from campus housing is up to five.

"Students who are participating in the unauthorized encampment are suspended," Columbia University spokesperson Samantha Slater confirmed to Patch in an email. "We are continuing to identify them and will be sending out formal notifications."

New York Rep. Jamaal Bowman singled out the suspension of Omar’s daughter in his comments on Columbia's protest response.

“The day after @IlhanMN questioned Columbia leadership's commitment to free academic expression, the school suspended her daughter?” he tweeted. “It's clear what is happening here. Our educational institutions should not be in the business of political reprisals.”

those of us in Gaza Solidarity Encampment will not be intimidated. we will stand resolute until our demands are met.

our demands include divestment from companies complicit in genocide, transparency of @Columbia’s investments and FULL amnesty for all students facing repression
— isra hirsi (@israhirsi) April 18, 2024

Letters from the university distributed to protesters Wednesday demanded protesters leave by 9 p.m. or face suspension "pending investigation for possible violation of multiple university policies," according to a copy of the letter reviewed by Patch.

"During the suspension, you may not go to class or hand in work related to courses and therefore may not be able to complete your current courses," the letter reads. "Your [student ID] will be deactivated, you will not have access to classrooms and other parts of campus and may not participate in University activities."

Multiple Arrested, NYPD Confirms

The marathon protest began Wednesday about 4 a.m. as hundreds of Columbia University students erected dozens of tents, independent journalist Talia Jane reported. Though public access to the campus via Broadway is still blocked, protest supporters slept outside the university gates on West 116th Street.

Five people were arrested earlier Thursday morning about 8:30 a.m. outside Columbia University's main gate on Broadway, according to police sources.

Those arrested were charged with resisting arrest and obstructing governmental administration, police said. The arrested ranged in age from 23 to 37 years old and were from the five boroughs, save for one who hailed from Boston, Mass.

Another Wednesday night arrest stemmed from a protester using an airhorn at a demonstration near the main gate, Jane reported. Earlier that day, another protester was reportedly arrested for having a flag that is too tall, she added.

Why Are Students Protesting?

The ongoing demonstration, dubbed the Gaza Solidarity Encampment, plans to remain on the campus lawn until the university divests from its interests in Israel.

While several Columbia student groups have been pushing divestment for years, calls have been renewed amid the Israel-Hamas war. Last fall's "Call To Action for Palestine" protest, organized by Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine, urged newly-inaugurated Shafik to end the campus' dual-degree program with Tel Aviv University and pull the plug on the opening of the Tel Aviv Global Center.

Other demands include Columbia University verbally acknowledging Palestine's "existence and humanity," according to the SJP Instagram page.

Read more: 2 Protests, One War: Israel-Hamas Conflict Reaches Columbia U [PHOTOS]

Shafik testified Wednesday to a House committee over Columbia University's response to antisemitism, noting during her opening remarks that there is "much more work to do" to combat antisemitism on campus.

“Trying to reconcile the free speech rights of those who want to protest and the rights of Jewish students to be in an environment free of harassment or discrimination has been the central challenge on our campus, and many others, in recent months,” Shafik said, according to CNN.

Student supporters of this week's marathon protest gathered outside the lawn Wednesday night, with one speaker saying “the entire encampment voted unanimously that we will not leave until we win all of our demands," according to a video posted to X by Jane.

“If the encampment has decided they will not leave, that means we will not leave,” another said.