Columbia Allows 48-Hour Deadline to Pass Without Action on Student Protests

‘There is a rumor that the NYPD has been invited to campus this evening. This rumor is false,’ school officials said late Thursday

MANHATTAN—More than a week after its formation, the “Gaza Solidarity” tent encampment at Columbia University lives on, with school president Minouche Shafik letting her 48-hour deadline to clear the area slide without taking action against student protesters.

Student protesters celebrated another night in the encampment late Thursday with chants of “There is only one solution, intifada revolution” and “Long live the intifada.” Those chants came just hours before the university’s 48-hour deadline to clear the encampment was set to expire.

‘There is only one solution. Intifada revolution.”

‘Long live the intifada.” pic.twitter.com/BynAcaf3wG

— Jessica Costescu (@JessicaCostescu) April 26, 2024

The students appeared to prepare for their arrest as the deadline approached, with student leaders informing protesters of their “jail support infrastructure.” Instead, Columbia officials issued a statement just before midnight saying their talks with the protesters “have shown progress and are continuing as planned.”

“There is a rumor that the NYPD has been invited to campus this evening,” the school said. “This rumor is false.”

The student group coalition behind the protest, Columbia University Apartheid Divest, celebrated the announcement in an Instagram post with the caption “NO SWEEP TONIGHT.”

It is now unclear whether the school has another deadline set for students to clear the encampment, which they formed on April 17, the day of Shafik’s congressional testimony on campus anti-Semitism.

While Shafik authorized New York City police to enter campus and arrest unauthorized participants one day later, the student protesters quickly formed another camp, which has stayed up since.

Students prepared for another wave of arrests Tuesday night, pledging to “defend the encampment” and “rally” for their “comrades.” But those arrests never came, with Shafik pushing back a midnight deadline to clear the encampment—first to 8 a.m., then to 48 hours.

Late Thursday night, Shafik issued the statement saying the negotiations between the university and the student protesters “have shown progress” and are ongoing. Columbia University did not respond to a request for comment.

The students are also targeting the school through Palestine Legal, a nonprofit that represents students who “stand for justice in Palestine.” The group announced a civil rights complaint against the New York Police Department over the arrest of more than 100 students, who were also suspended by the university. The group is representing four Columbia students and the school’s Students for Justice in Palestine chapter.

“Today, Palestine Legal filed a civil rights complaint with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights,” the group said in a Thursday statement, “demanding an investigation into Columbia University’s discriminatory treatment of Palestinian students and their allies, including by inviting NYPD officers in riot gear … to arrest over a hundred students peacefully protesting Israel’s genocide last week.”

Protests held near the entrance to Columbia’s campus have turned violent. Last week, Arab-Israeli journalist Yoseph Haddad was pushed, punched in the face, and told to kill himself during an encounter with people he called “pro-terrorist protesters” positioned near the Columbia gates. Haddad was scheduled to speak on campus that night but was forced to cancel the event.

Within the campus gates, meanwhile, a group of Jewish students was targeted by student protesters over the weekend. The group went out on campus Saturday night with an Israeli flag, which was stolen. Pro-Hamas agitators later attempted to burn it. The group was assaulted, splashed with water, and followed by protesters, according to one of the students.

At a press conference led by student protesters Thursday afternoon, organizers said they “will remain in this encampment until we achieve all of our demands,” which are for Columbia “to divest, disclose, and amnesty for all” students and faculty disciplined. The students have also scheduled another presser for 2:30 p.m. Friday.