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Columbia University says it's begun suspending students who refused to vacate encampment
From CNN's Eva Rothenberg
Columbia University has begun suspending student protesters who refused to vacate the on-campus encampment by the 2 p.m. ET deadline set by the administration.
These students will not be eligible to complete the semester or graduate and won't be allowed in university housing and academic buildings, the New York-based university said.
"Once disciplinary action is initiated, adjudication is handled by several different units within the universitybased on the nature of the offense," Vice President of Public Affairs BenChangsaid during a briefing Monday evening.
The two bodies overseeing this disciplinary process are the Office of University Life and the university's senate, a policy-making group that represents students and faculty.
"Decisions made by the Office of University Life can be appealed to the dean of the student's school," said Chang. "Decisions made by the senate can be appealed to a panel of deans and, ultimately, the university's president."
Chang added that the university asked student protesters to remove the encampment, in part, to make sure that the university's commencement ceremony for its 15,000 graduates can continue as planned.
The students at Columbia,the epicenter of the weeklong pro-Palestinian protests, had earlier voted to defy the order and stay.
The post was updated with more details from Monday's news briefing.
Northwestern says agreement reached with students on limiting the scope of protests
From CNN's Virginia Langmaid
Northwestern University on Monday announced an agreement with student demonstrators to limit the scope of the campus protest and end the encampment at Deering Meadow, the schoolsaid in a news release.
Through negotiations with “a group of students and faculty who represent the majority of the protesters on Deering Meadow,” both parties agreed to limit the scope of the protest, while granting some of the organizers' requests for transparency and free speech protections.
According to the agreement, protesters will be allowed at the site through the end of spring classes — on June 1 — as long as the scope is reduced to one aid tent, sound amplifiers are within university policy and participants are limited to those affiliated with the university.
“All other tents must be removed,” according to theagreement.
The University will also be reconvening its Advisory Committee on Investment and Responsibility in the fall, and in the agreement committed to additional transparency regarding specific investment holdings. Additionally, the University announced it will commit to supporting Palestinian faculty and students, including fully funding the cost of attendance for five Palestinian students and constructing a community space for Middle Eastern and North African/Muslim students.
In a series of Instagram posts, the Northwestern Divestment Coalition, which was involved in establishing the encampment, called the agreement a “first step” toward divestment, saying it was approved by elected representatives in a 17-1 vote. The coalition represents student groups including NU Students for Justice in Palestine and NU Jewish Voice for Peace.
Monday marked the fifth day of the encampment at Northwestern. Counter-protesters and police were present at the encampment sporadically, and the atmosphere remained peaceful and nonviolent over the weekend.
Most of the UT-Austin protesters arrested are not believed to be affiliated with the university, school says
From CNN’sAshley Killough
Several protesters have been arrested at UT-Austin Monday, most of whom are not believed to be affiliated with the university, school officials said in a statement.
“After protesters ignored repeated directives from both the administration and law enforcement officers to comply with Institutional Rules and remove tents assembled on the University’s South Lawn, then physically engaged with and verbally assaulted Dean of Students staff who attempted to confiscate them, UT and partner law enforcement agencies dismantled an encampment and arrested several protesters,” university officials said in a statement. “Baseball size rocks were found strategically placed within the encampment.”
Over the weekend, the university received “extensive online threats” from a group that organized Monday’s demonstrations, officials said in the statement.
The statement added that the threats were reported to local, state and federal law enforcement officials without elaborating.
“The University will continue to support the free speech and assembly rights of our community while also enforcing its Institutional Rules,” the statement read.
Here’s the latest on the protests at major US universities
From CNN staff
Pro-Palestinian protests on college campuses have entered their second week – just as many universities prepare for graduation ceremonies in the coming weeks.
Hundreds of students have been arrested by law enforcement on various campuses.
Acentral demandof protesters is for universities to divest from Israel-linked companies that they say are profiting from the war in Gaza..
Here's what you should know:
More arrests and warnings:
- Students at Columbia University voted to remain at their encampment after university leadership gave protesters a 2 p.m. ET deadline to vacate or face suspension.
- Texas State Police in riot gear arrested at least six people at the University of Texas at Austin Monday afternoon.
- Officers arrested over 90 people, including 54 students, at a protest encampment on the lawn at Virginia Tech's Graduate Life Center, according to the school. The demonstration began on Friday and progressed over the weekend.
- Several arrests were made on the University of Georgia campus in Athens after protesters began putting up tents and a barricade on the quad, according to the university.
Divestment negotiations:
- The University of Pennsylvania put "Notice of Trespass" signs surrounding the on-campus encampment Monday morning after negotiations between protest organizers and university leaders over divestment broke down over the weekend.
- Brown University said it will hear a group of students and faculty members’ “arguments for divestment” in May if the campus’ encampment "is peacefully brought to an end within the next few days and is not replaced with any other encampments or unauthorized protest activity.”
Schools weigh graduation ceremonies:
- A pair of speakers set to address master's and doctorate graduates of the University of Southern California's Rossier School of Education have withdrawn citing the school’s dealings with war protesters and cancellation of valedictorianAsna Tabassum’scommencement speech.
- Columbia University said it wants “to reassure our community who are trying to make plans that we will indeed hold acommencement.
White House won't say if campus protesters should face disciplinary action
From CNN's DJ Judd and Haley Talbot
The White House declined to say if President Joe Biden believes that demonstrators who’ve camped out on college campuses across the country to protest against the war in Gaza should face disciplinary actions, repeating the president’s support for the right to peacefully protest while criticizing antisemitic rhetoric and calls for violence.
“These are institutions – some of them are private, some of them are public – and it is up to their leadership, university leadership and colleges, to make that decision,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Monday.
The press secretary acknowledged what she called “a painful moment” as the civilian toll in Gaza continues to rise, adding, “We get that it is a painful moment that Americans are dealing with, and free expression has to be done within the law.”
However, House Speaker Mike Johnson indicated he would consider pulling federal funding to college campuses roiled by protests.
“We're looking at very seriously reducing or eliminating any federal funds at all to campuses who cannot maintain basic safety and security of Jewish students,” the Republican lawmaker said in an interview Friday withSalem news program “This Week on the Hill.”
Johnson visited Columbia University last week to meet with Jewish students and delivered remarks with other Republican lawmakers. When Johnson and the GOP lawmakers walked up to begin speaking, there were loud boos from protesters.
“It is unruly; they are allowing mob rule on some of these campuses, and Columbia University was a case in point,” he said.
Columbia student protesters: "We will not be moved by these intimidation tactics"
From CNN's RamishahMarufandJohnTowfighi
Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD), a student protest group, denounced what it called the university administration's "attempts to stifle the student movement." The group said protesters will not be moved except by force, as negotiations with leadership remain "off the table."
In a news conference Monday, student Sueda Polatsaid that university delegates issued disciplinary notices to protesters, alerting students they have two choices.
Students could sign a form and be put, "on academic probation on the condition that they abide by all university rules until June 30, 2025. Or until their graduation, whichever comes first," Polat said."Or, the students would be interim suspended."
Polat added that suspension would mean that these student protesters lose their housing and healthcare access, as well as losing their right to graduation if they are in their final year.
Palot also said members of the university's leadership confirmed that a state of emergency from the university was threatened.
In a statement to CNN, ColumbiaPublic Affairs said: "The rumorofa 'stateofemergency' at Columbia University is a fabrication and totally false.There is nostateofemergency."
"The administration has turned the site of protest into a crime scene," Columbia professor says
From CNN's Samantha Delouya and John Towfighi
Ahead of the 2:00 p.m. deadline to clear the encampment, about two dozen Columbia faculty linked arms outside the school's lawn entrance, making a human barricade.
Earlier in the day, Columbia leadership asked protesters to voluntarily leave their encampment by the deadline or risk suspension. Protesting students overwhelmingly voted to defy the order and stay.
"Nobody thinks they should be suspended. Look at the thousands that have turned up here," Mahmood Mamdani, a professor of anthropology at the university, told CNN's Omar Jimenez after the deadline passed. Mamdani was one of the professors who had formed the human barricade and he expressed worry that the administration might call in police to forcibly break up the encampment.
"We teach our students not to accept things at face value. We teach them to ask questions, no matter the consequences," Mamdani said. "The idea of penalizing students for protests? The administration has turned the site of a protest into a crime scene."
"If I were the administration, I would have promoted discussion, not muzzled discussion," he added.
Police have arrested at least 6 protesters at UT Austin
From CNN's Ed Lavandera and Ashley Killough
Texas State Police have started arresting some protesters at the University of Texas at Austin. CNN’s team in Austin witnessed at least six protesters being arrested Monday afternoon.
A group of law enforcement officers in riot gear have been surrounding a group of protesters, as protests on campus enter their second week.
91 people arrested at Virginia Tech protest overnight
From CNN’s Chris Boyette and Paradise Afshar
Virginia Tech Police arrested over 90 people, including students, at a protest encampment on the lawn at the university’s Graduate Life Center, according to the school.
“91 individuals, 54 of whom are current Virginia Tech students, were arrested and all were charged with trespassing,” theuniversity said in a statement.
The university said demonstrators began occupying the lawn at the university’s Graduate Life Center on Friday. By Sunday, the situation on campus had “progressed”and had the potential to “become unsafe," according to the university.
At about 10:15 p.m. on Sunday, Virginia Tech police advised the group to leave within five minutes or be subject to arrest.
Around the same time, the university posted onsocial media: "Heavy police activity around Graduate Life Center. Urgent. Please avoid the area. Call 911 for help."
