The president of Columbia University released a statement Wednesday morning to members of the university community explaining why she called police the night before.
Nemat Shafik said the protesters who occupied an administrative building on campus on Tuesday morning were a “drastic escalation” of the encampment at the college, which “has pushed the University to the limit, creating a disruptive environment for everyone and elevating security risks to an intolerable level. ”
Shafik, who goes by Minouche, acknowledged that the school has a “long and proud” history of campus activism, but argued that those occupying the building committed “acts of destruction, not political speech.”
“I know I speak on behalf of many members of our community when I say that this turn of events has filled me with deep sadness. I’m sorry it’s come to this,” she wrote.
At the moment:
– Dueling protesters clash at UCLA hours after police break up pro-Palestinian rally in Columbia
– Student protesters reach an agreement with Northwestern University that generates criticism from all sides
— How Columbia University became the driving force behind protests against the war in Gaza
– Trump’s comparison of student protests to January 6 is part of effort to downplay the attack on the Capitol
Here are the latest:
Classes were canceled Wednesday at the University of California, Los Angeles.
UCLA announced the cancellation of classes on the social media site Please avoid the Royce Quad area.”
The clashes at UCLA occurred around a camp built by pro-Palestinian protesters. Counterprotesters attempted to tear down a line of parade barricades, plywood and wooden pallets at the edge of the camp.
Police at two campuses in Arizona emptied campsites and arrested pro-Palestinian protesters.
Several people were arrested by police in riot gear Wednesday morning at the University of Arizona in Tucson after President Robert Robbins instructed school officials to “immediately enforce campus use policies.”
And about 20 people were arrested at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff on Tuesday night on trespassing charges. Police dismantled a small fence made of chicken wire, as well as nearly two dozen tents.
Campus police spokesman Marc Lovicott said at least a dozen people were arrested at the University of Wisconsin at Madison as police removed tents erected by protesters.
Police pushed back against protesters with shields on Wednesday morning, resulting in a stampede. Protesters shouted “students, stand firm” and “long live Palestine”.
Police removed all but one of the tents that protesters had erected. The protesters’ tents and belongings were loaded onto a dump truck.
The university said camping is prohibited by campus policy and state law.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams says about 300 people have been arrested in police crackdowns on pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia University and City College.
Adams, a Democrat who was a police captain, insisted that although the people who entered Columbia’s Hamilton Hall included students, “it was led by individuals who were not affiliated with the university.”
“There is a movement to radicalize young people. And I’m not going to wait until this is done to acknowledge the existence of this,” Adams said Wednesday morning.
Police were clearing an encampment of pro-Palestinian protesters on the University of Wisconsin campus in Madison and took away several protesters.
Several police officers arrived at the encampment in the campus’s Library Mall around 7 a.m. Wednesday and broadcast a recorded message saying it was a final warning and that protesters were violating university code, WISC-TV reported.
About 20 minutes later, nearly 60 officers, some with riot shields, arrived and began removing tents and other items, the station said.
Video from WISC-TV showed police with riot shields pushing back against demonstrators and demonstrators retreating while shouting slogans including “Free, Free Palestine.” The station said at least 10 protesters were led away by police with their hands tied by officers.
Police later removed some tents that remained at the camp, but about 30 protesters surrounded another tent to prevent officers from reaching it.
Campus leaders and police warned students last week to comply with state law and university rules, which prohibit unauthorized camping on campus. But on Monday, several hundred protesters gathered on the Mall, located between the Memorial Library and the Wisconsin Historical Society, and established an encampment, the Wisconsin State Journal reported.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams said in an appearance on “CBS Mornings” Wednesday that police identified organizations and individuals who were not college students but professional agitators.
“Once I became aware of the outside agitators who were part of this operation, as Columbia mentioned in its letter and in its request to the New York City Police Department, it became clear that we had to take appropriate action when our intelligence division identified those who were well-trained professionals,” Adams said.
Adams and the NYPD made similar claims before the arrests that the protest had been co-opted by outside agitators, although they did not provide specific evidence to support that claim. While people involved in the Columbia demonstrations acknowledge that some people outside the university community participated, they strongly dispute the idea that outsiders were leading or unduly influencing the protests.
Adams pointed to the protesters who stormed Hamilton Hall at Columbia University, saying some of the tactics and methods have been used around the world.
“And we understand how dangerous this situation has become,” Adams said, noting that they ensured a minimum amount of force was used to “eradicate the problem” at the City University of New York and Columbia.
When analyzing inmates, Adams said a substantial number of them will not be students at the City University of New York or Columbia.
Adams said he understands the power of protests, but they need to ensure they don’t turn violent. Storming Hamilton Hall was not protesting, “this was committing a crime,” he said.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” on Wednesday that police had to move to Columbia University’s Hamilton Hall “for the safety of these children.”
He blamed outside agitators for taking over the building.
“There are people who are harmful and are trying to radicalize our children and we cannot ignore this,” Adams said.
NYPD Deputy Commissioner of Public Information Tarik Sheppard, who appeared with the mayor, held a heavy chain.
“That’s not what students bring to school,” Sheppard said. “That’s what we found on every door in Hamilton Hall.”
Sheppard said 40 to 50 people were arrested at Hamilton Hall without injuries. Adams said they will face charges including theft, trespassing and criminal mischief, while those who were arrested outside the building will face less serious charges.
Six people were arrested and seven students who participated in demonstrations at Tulane University were suspended, the New Orleans school said in a message to the university community Wednesday morning. One more suspension was pending, officials said.
The university was also investigating reports from university employees who participated in the demonstration.
“We value freedom of expression and support numerous legal demonstrations throughout this year,” the university said in the statement. “But we continue to oppose invasion, hate speech, anti-Semitism and prejudice against religious or ethnic groups.”
Four buildings on campus would remain closed Wednesday as the demonstration continued, with classes scheduled in those buildings being remote, officials said.
When several dozen protesters camped in about a dozen small tents in a grassy area near an administration building on Monday, police “acted immediately to attempt to stop the camp,” the administration said Tuesday. There were arrests and students were suspended after a clash with police on Monday and the organization Students for a Democratic Society was also suspended, the university said.
Groups of dueling protesters clashed Wednesday at the University of California, Los Angeles, fighting and pushing, kicking and using sticks to beat each other.
Hours earlier, police carrying riot shields stormed a Columbia University building that pro-Palestinian protesters had taken over and broke up a demonstration that had brought the school to a standstill while inspiring others.
After a few hours of clashes between pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli protesters at UCLA, police officers wearing helmets and face shields formed lines and slowly separated the groups. This seemed to end the violence.
Police have swept campuses across the U.S. over the past two weeks in response to protests calling on universities to stop doing business with Israel or with companies that support the war in Gaza. There were clashes and more than 1,000 arrests. In rarer cases, university officials and protest leaders have reached agreements to restrict disruption of campus life and upcoming graduation ceremonies.
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