NEW YORK — Columbia University started suspending students who refused to leave the protest encampment by the school-imposed 2 p.m. deadline on Monday.
But at 8 p.m., most of the students that spoke to CBS New York said they weren’t going anywhere.
It’s unclear if the university will ask the NYPD to clear the encampment. Remember, Columbia is private property so police cannot enter without being requested to by the administration.
Hundreds of students marched and rallied on campus earlier in the day in support of their classmates who have been camped out on the lawn for nearly two weeks in support of Palestinians and demanding the university divest from companies that do business with Israel.
After negotiating with protesters for several days, the Columbia administration announced the sides were not able to come to an agreement. Columbia said it will not divest from Israel but did offer to review student proposals and establish more transparency for the school’s investment holdings.
That, however, was not enough for the pro-Palestinian demonstrators.
Students that remain risk not ending semester in good standing Â
The Columbia administration circulated a letter to students on Monday telling protesters if they had voluntarily left the encampment by 2 p.m. and signed a form committing to abide by university policies, they would be eligible to complete the semester in good standing.
If not, they would be suspended indefinitely, barred from completing this semester, not allowed to graduate if seniors, and banned from campus and residential housing.
“This movement has sparked nationwide international movement, anti-war movement across U.S. colleges and universities, national universities. So we already achieved a lot by just starting this encampment and we will remain here until all U.S. universities, especially Columbia, will divest,” student protest negotiator Mahmoud Khalil said.
“I am happy Columbia is taking a stance to protect its Jewish and Israeli student body who have been fearful these past few weeks,” one student said.
Graduation is scheduled for May 15 on the same lawn where the encampment is.
Encampment set up at Rutgers University
Students at Rutgers University set up an encampment at the New Brunswick campus on Monday after first holding a rally and then marching to the location.
They’re trying to get the attention of the university’s Board of Governors and the Joint Committee on Investments after they felt their request for the school to divest from Israel was ignored at a meeting on Thursday.
Earlier this month, more than 6,000 students voted in favor of a referendum calling on university administrators to withdraw investments in Israel and cancel the school’s partnership with Tel Aviv University. More than 1,500 voted against the idea.
There are 44,000 students enrolled in New Brunswick. Those who spoke to CBS New York at Monday’s rally declined to go on camera.
“I’m here to support our students, all of them, and to see what our students are going with, what they feel passionate about, and also, I believe in the cause, the idea of divesting being an important part to move our university toward a more moral position,” said Kaiser Aslam, Muslim chaplain of the Rutgers Center for Islamic Life.
“I am Jewish and in terms of antisemitism at these rallies, I have never felt as safe anywhere as I do at these rallies. I have never felt as embraced as I do at these rallies,” said Ellen Rosner, a local resident.Â
Rutgers says the request is under review and that the school’s president, who has no direct role in the investment process, has made clear his personal opposition to the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement, and his support for the relationship with Tel Aviv University.
On Monday’s rally he said, in part, “Our students want to make a difference in a struggle that has cost far too many innocent lives and that threatens so many more. I respect their right to protest in ways that do not interfere with university operations or with the ability of their fellow students to learn.”
