Hundreds were arrested after protests at Columbia University and City College in Harlem. The NYPD will maintain a presence at the Ivy League school until after graduation, while both schools will have remote classes for the rest of the semester. Another protest sprung up at Fordham’s Lincoln Center campus, with several tents going up inside a university building. So what happens next? NBC New York’s Andrew Siff, Gus Rosendale and Jessica Cunnington have team coverage.
The City College of New York, part of the CUNY system, moved to remote learning starting Wednesday following continued protests and the development of an encampment on the college's campus, school officials said.
"As of tomorrow, May 1, 2024, and until further notice, all City College classes will be held remotely and all College functions will move online," a notice on the school's website Tuesday said. "Campus buildings will be closed to everyone except essential personnel, as defined by supervisors in each area."
City College's president, Vincent Boudreau, posted a letter to the school community earlier Tuesday announcing the decision to go remote with two weeks left of classes.
"This is obviously a wrenching moment for the CCNY community and for me personally," Boudreau said in the letter. "I know that you all join me in the fervent hope that this encampment can be brought to a peaceful conclusion."
The college was quiet Wednesday morning with only police and custodial crews on campus. Just like at Columbia, gates at City College were locked on Wednesday with barriers in place.
A night before, cops responded to a protest at the Hamilton Heights campus. School officials said protesters were interfering with safety and security, noting that there had been a series of "violent" incidents in the past week and mentioned a "significant inclusion of unaffiliated individuals."
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NYPD officers entered the campus in large numbers late Tuesday night after receiving a request for assistance from City College to help clear the encampment of protesters. Police said 173 people were arrested.
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NYPD Deputy Commissioner Kaz Daughtry posted a video on social media as officers appear to remove a Palestinian flag from a flagpole at City College and replace it with a United States flag.
"If you were at City College and you saw the bottles the garbage cans being thrown at officers, these officers showed a lot of control," Mayor Adams said, adding he thought it was "despicable that schools will allow another country’s flag to fly in our country," a reference to a video shared on NYPD's Instagram showing officers replacing a Palestinian flag with an American flag.
In a statement, CUNY encampment leaders said protesters stood their ground and were "viciously attacked" by officers. Police said Wednesday morning there were no violent clashes or injuries.
Read City College president's full letter to the school community
"Dear Members of the City College Campus Community,
I’m writing to update you on recent events on campus and to provide you with some guidance about tomorrow. As you likely know by now, there is an encampment of demonstrators on our quad, and it is posing significant difficulties for us.
Throughout our history, inclusive of these last few months, we have respected the right to protest and the values of academic and speech freedom. Events since October have put those commitments to the test, but we have endeavored to reconcile the tensions that often exist between supporting free speech and tending to the safety and well-being of our entire community.
This encampment, however, poses significantly different and heightened challenges. Most importantly, this is not primarily a CCNY demonstration, and perhaps not primarily a CUNY demonstration. The significant inclusion of un-affiliated external individuals means that we don’t have established connections to them.
Specifically, this demonstration has been more contentious and violent than anything we’ve seen on campus before. Today, we distributed a letter to members of the encampment detailing specific examples of threats to the safety of people within and outside the encampment, so that all of them understand the full scope of the activity. We also want all of them, and those of you reading this note, to understand that in no way does our response to this particular and extraordinary threat overwrite our more fundamental commitments to free speech, academic freedom, or the right to peacefully protest that comply with CCNY and CUNY regulations.
But, in view of these developments, we are instructing the demonstrators encamped on our quad to dismantle their encampment and restrict their future activities to those permitted under CUNY guidelines for assembly, free speech and protest.
Given the situation, we are moving all Wednesday classes and work to remote, remaining remote until conditions permit a return to normal business operations. We are also urging all members of our community to stay away from campus. Essential staff members will receive more specific information on whether and how to report to the campus. If for some reason it is essential that you come to campus, make sure you bring your CCNY ID and that people know of your plans—supervisors, deans, etc. In addition, a second guidance is forthcoming that will detail, with specifics, how to re-establish your remote access across academic and business units, including guidance for students.
The situation on campus is very fluid and we will endeavor to keep you updated. This is obviously a wrenching moment for the CCNY community and for me personally. I know that you all join me in the fervent hope that this encampment can be brought to a peaceful conclusion.
Sincerely,
Vince Boudreau
President"
