Hundreds of NYPD gather at Columbia as mayor warns pro-Gaza protesters ‘this must end now’: Live

Columbia University is threatening to expel students who have occupied Hamilton Hall

Columbia will have ‘blood on its hands’ if police bring weapons to campus, say students

Hundreds of New York police officers have begun to mass outside of Columbia University, where campus protesters have occupied Hamilton Hall since Monday night, tying doors shut with ropes and blocking entrances with furniture.

Activists have renamed the building “Hind’s Hall” in honour of Hind Rajab, a six-year-old Palestinian girl who was killed by Israeli tanks in Gaza as paramedics tried to rescue her.

These Columbia students face expulsion, spokesperson Ben Chang said on Tuesday. New York mayor Eric Adams also addressed protesters directly, telling them “this must end now,” CNN reported.

Pro-Palestinian student protests have swept the country, and dozens of schools now have encampments.

University administrations have called riot police onto campus in multiple states, resulting in hundreds of arrests and violent encounters between students and law enforcement.

At California State Polytechnic Institute, Humboldt, police arrested 35 people on Tuesday after pro-Palestinian protesters barricaded themselves inside school buildings for over a week, while some 30 pro-Palestinian protesters were arrested at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill the same day.

Brown University, meanwhile, announced an agreement on Tuesday where students would end their encampment in exchange for a vote on Israeli divestment later this year.

Key Points

• Columbia students occupy historic Hamilton Hall overnight
• Columbia University shuts down campus as students occupy building
• WATCH: Columbia will have ‘blood on its hands’ if police bring weapons to campus, student says
• Students occupying Hamilton Hall face expulsion, Columbia University spokesperson says
• Jewish student protesters say Columbia’s pro-Palestine demonstrations aren’t antisemitic
• Graduating seniors blame USC for ruining end of college with ‘military’ crackdown on pro-Palestine campus protests
• USC cancels main commencement ceremony following chaotic pro-Palestine protests
• Riot police use pepper spray as dozens arrested at University of Texas pro-Gaza protest encampment
• Over 800 US students have been arrested this month in Israel-Gaza war protests
• Nearly three dozen pro-Palestinian student protesters arrested at California college

[27 April 2024 02:00 · Graig Graziosi]

WATCH: Pro-Israeli protests at Columbia University

[27 April 2024 01:30 · Mike Bedigan]

Columbia’s senate calls for investigation into university president over reaction to Gaza protests

Columbia University’s senate has called for an investigation into president Minouche Shafik and members of her administration, amid the ongoing protests on campus over the Israel-Gaza war.

The sentate voted on Friday to approve the resolution, and accused the administration of violating established protocols, undermining academic freedom, and breaching the due process rights of both students and professors, according to the senate’s Resolution Adressing Current Events, seen by The Independent.

Read the full story here:

[27 April 2024 01:00 · Graig Graziosi]

Police launch violent crackdowns on Gaza protests on campuses across the US: ‘We’re terrified of another Kent State’

Police in riot gear have violently broken up peaceful Gaza solidarity protests at college campuses across the country, arresting over 500 students in the process.

Images of armed police beating students, throwing them to the ground and using tear gas to disperse the protests have flooded social media in the past few days as the protests continued to spread.

One video from Emory University in Atlanta on Thursday showed police using a taser on a Black man who was being restrained by three officers on the ground. Witnesses also reported police firing some kind of non-lethal projectile into the crowd.

[27 April 2024 00:00 · Graig Graziosi]

USC cancels main commencement ceremony following chaotic pro-Palestine protests

The University of Southern California has announced it will not hold its main 2024 graduation ceremony amid pro-Palestone protests on campus and criticism over a previously canceled student speaker.

The institution announced the decision on Thursday after protestors clashed with campus security and police on Wednesday. More than 90 protesters were arrested during the demonstrations.

USC’s 2024 commencement ceremony was scheduled for 10 May. The university said it will still host dozens of commencement events, including all the traditional individual school commencement ceremonies where students cross a stage and receive their diplomas.

[26 April 2024 23:00 · Graig Graziosi]

Georgia Attorney General praised police crackdowns on Gaza protests

Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr released a statement on Thursday calling Gaza protests “antisemitic” — parroting a frequent talking point used by Republicans to denounce the demonstrations — and said the students had no legal right to shut down the school.

“We will proudly stand by any university that takes action to protect the health and safety of Georgia’s students,” Mr Carr said on social media. “Nobody has the legal right to shut down our schools by camping out and making antisemitic threats.”

At least two Emory University professors were arrested, while protesters were tased — even while restrained — and shot with pepper balls by law enforcement officers.