Columbia University Starts Suspending Student Protesters as Encampment Continues

NEW YORK—Under increasing pressure, the president of Columbia University started suspending students involved in a pro-Palestinian encampment on campus who had exceeded a newly set deadline.

Columbia University had urged students in a notice to dismantle the encampment voluntarily by 2 p.m. ET on Monday, warning that failure to do so would result in suspension and exclusion from completing the semester.

Despite the passing of the deadline, numerous tents persisted on Monday. Given the continued presence of many tents hours after the stipulated time, Columbia announced its intention to suspend certain protesters.

Protesting students gathered at around 4 p.m. after marching around the campus in circles, chanting pro-Palestinian slogans.

Altercations between police and protesters were seen, and one arrest was made.

One of the speakers said that they would stay until 7 p.m. “at least” after resting and getting some water.

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Darializa Avila, a Columbia alumni who studied Middle Eastern studies, was at the campus to support calls for establishing a Palestinian state.

“I’m here to support the students and their demands. They’re here demanding that the university end its complicity in Israeli apartheid and the ongoing genocide of Palestinians,” Ms. Avila told The Epoch Times.

“That includes the rights of everybody, regardless of background, ethnic background, religious background, that all citizens be treated equally, the right of refugees to return to their homes, an end to the siege on Gaza. And, you know, equality for everybody in the region.”

When asked what she thought about Hamas and their attacks, she answered: “So you know, this is a conflict that has been going on for 75 years. And by conflict, I mean an occupation. That is, by international law—illegal. And so these demands, this campaign for divestment began eight years ago.”

David Lederer, a Jewish student studying financial engineering at Columbia, shared his view on the protest about the plight of the Palestinians.

“Last week was complete anarchy and chaos on campus. That’s why I did not feel safe on campus. I came out with an Israeli flag for one hour, they stole my flag and lit it on fire. They stole it,” he said of the protesters.

He told The Epoch Times that his brother had to go to the ER because he got hit in the head with a rock.

“People had water splashed on them. People got in their faces, like real harassment. And [some] people said, go back to Poland, like explicitly anti-semitic things. So things got really heated last week, I went home after that for a couple of days. That’s when we saw the media really pick up on the story, [as well as] the politicians with it.”

Mr. Lederer thinks that the aggressive environment has calmed down drastically due to media coverage.

He also alleges that some suspensions of pro-Palestinian students have been revoked.

“We know previously they revoked a lot of suspensions, which was infuriating to me,” he said.

David Lederer, a Jewish student at Columbia University (blue collar dress shirt), and his brother (black shirt) support Israel on the Columbia campus on Apr 29, 2024 (Enrico Trigoso/The Epoch Times)

The notice, a copy of which was obtained by The Epoch Times, read, “It is important for you to know that the university has already identified many students in the encampment. If you do not leave by 2 p.m., you will be suspended pending further investigation.”

After the deadline passed, the university didn’t call the police to disperse the demonstrators. Instead, spokesperson Ben Chang announced that the school had begun to suspend students. He didn’t indicate how many students had received a suspension. He also didn’t say how the suspensions would be carried out or whether suspended students would be ejected from the campus.

Mr. Chang said that while the university appreciated the free speech rights of students, the encampment was a “noisy distraction” that was interfering with teaching and student preparation for final exams.

The protests also made some Jewish students deeply uncomfortable, he said.

Protest organizers said they were not aware of any suspensions as of Monday evening.

The notice sent to protesters earlier on Monday read that if they left by the deadline and signed a form committing to abide by university policies through June 2025, they could finish the semester in good standing. If not, the notice read, they would be suspended, pending further investigation.

Police control barricades outside Columbia University after a protesting woman was arrested on April 29, 2024. (Enrico Trigoso/The Epoch Times)

A class-action lawsuit representing Jewish students alleges that Columbia breached its contract by purportedly failing to uphold a secure learning environment despite established policies and assurances. The lawsuit also contests the shift away from in-person classes and seeks expedited legal action mandating Columbia to furnish security for the students.

Some are worried that the protests will interrupt the graduations coming up next week. Certain classes had been held online due to the disruptions.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.