What to Know
- Pro-Palestinian groups are protesting at colleges and universities across America, an outgrowth of a demonstration that yielded dozens of arrests at Columbia University last week
- Tensions have only escalated in the weeks since, with the NYPD called to assist in clearing protesters at Columbia and NYU; an encampment remains on one of Columbia's lawns as negotiations with the school and protesters continue
- The protesters are calling on Columbia and other colleges and universities to divest from companies the providing funding to Israel and its action in the Israel-Hamas war
Negotiations are continuing between Columbia University administrators and protesters over an encampment that has been set up on the school's West Lawn, according to students involved in the negotiations.
The students said they will not leave the lawn until the school complies with demands to cut ties with Israeli-linked companies. The students have also asked the university to show leniency for students suspended or arrested for joining the encampment.
Columbia has imposed a deadline of Friday morning for an agreement to be reached to end the encampment, but student protesters said there is no deadline, it's a "timeline."
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"There's no deadline, this is a timeline for negotiation," student Mahmoud Khalil said, according to NBC News. "It's not a deadline to bring police enforcement or any other law enforcement."
The school had an earlier timeframe it had given the students, but then extended that by 48 hours.
"I very much hope these discussions are successful," the school's president, Minouche Shafik, said in a letter to the university on Tuesday. "If they are not, we will have to consider alternative options for clearing the West Lawn and restoring calm to campus so that students can complete the term and graduate. I am deeply sensitive to the fact that graduating seniors spent their first year attending Columbia remotely."
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House Speaker Mike Johnson visited Columbia on Wednesday and called on Shafik to resign if the protests continue.
In a middle-of-the-night update, a Columbia University spokesperson said student representatives of the protesters had agreed to a number of other conditions, including ensuring only affiliated students participate in the protest -- a move designed to oust purported "outsiders" that some, including Shafik and Mayor Eric Adams, blame for the escalation.
Among other concessions: Students in the encampment will comply with all FDNY requirements regarding activities and safety; and protesters have taken steps to make the encampment welcome to all and have prohibited discriminatory or harassing language.
Specifics on how these objectives would be met weren't immediately described, nor was it known if Columbia yielded to protesters' demands to any degree. Students have demanded Columbia divest from companies with links to Israel and guarantee amnesty for students that have been suspended.
A couple of demonstrations are planned for Thursday night outside the campus, including one with a pro-Israeli group, and another with a pro-Palestinian organization.
