Amid increasing demonstrations against Israel’s war in Gaza, New York police stormed the campus of Columbia University, apprehending dozens of students in solidarity with Palestine.
This student movement is part of a series of protests taking place at several American universities, pressing an end to hostilities in Gaza and calling for an economic and academic boycott of Israel.
Police intervention and institutional reactions
The intervention started late last night in the Manhattan district. The police evacuated demonstrators and reporters from around Hamilton Hall, where students and professors had barricaded themselves to call for an end to the fighting in Gaza. A spokesperson for the New York Police Department confirmed that the campus was emptied of protesters within three hours, with mass arrests.
NBC reports that almost 100 people were arrested and that Hamilton Hall, renamed “Hind Hall” in honour of a young Palestinian girl killed in the conflict, was emptied. During the evacuation, students chanted slogans such as “Free Palestine” and voiced rage, demanding the release of their detained comrades.
The Columbia administration voiced regret over the escalation of the situation, blaming protesters for occupying and damaging Hamilton Hall. It also mentioned that individuals unaffiliated with the university were leading the occupy movement.
Response from educational and government authorities
New York City Mayor Eric Adams declared the sit-ins must stop and that charges would be brought against the students implicated. For his part, the Secretary of Education of the United States, Miguel Cardona, cautioned against any tolerance towards actions compromising security on campuses, rejecting any form of hate speech or calls for genocide.
At the same time, other American universities, such as the University of North Carolina and Virginia Commonwealth University, also made arrests during similar protests. The situation has become a matter of primary concern for academic institutions across the country.
Consequences and subsequent events
This student protest movement is spreading to a growing number of American universities, from California to New England, and even to southern states like Texas and Arizona.
The Columbia affair could well be a tipping point for other establishmentsfacing similar dilemmas between managing security and respecting free speech.
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