NEGOTIATION DEADLINE
Columbia officials have given protesters until 4am on Friday to reach an agreement with the university on dismantling dozens of tents set up on the New York City campus in a protest that started a week ago.
An initial deadline of midnight Tuesday came and went without an agreement, but administrators extended it for 48 hours, citing progress in the talks.
The university already tried to shut the protest down by force. On Apr 18, Columbia President Minouche Shafik took the unusual move of inviting New York City police to enter the campus, drawing the ire of many students and faculty.
More than 100 people were arrested and the tents were removed from the main lawn. But within a few days, the encampment was back in place, and the university’s options appeared to narrow.
A pro-Palestinian US group filed a federal civil rights complaint against Columbia University after the school called police to clear demonstrator encampments, the group said on Thursday.
Palestine Legal, an organisation that seeks to protect the rights of people in the US to speak out on behalf of Palestinians, urged the US Education Department to probe the school’s actions, which it alleges were discriminatory against those who are pro-Palestinian.
Columbia University did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The protesters have vowed to keep the protest going until the university agrees to disclose and divest any financial holdings that might support the war in Gaza, and grant amnesty to students suspended from school during the demonstrations.
