On the campus of Columbia University in New York, tensions between pro-Palestinian students and the university administration continued last night.
The protesters did not leave the university last night, despite the school administration demanding an end to the protests and detaining around 108 students.
Activist students spread tarpaulins on the grassy area in the campus square, where they ate and studied on their laptops, while Muslim students prayed the evening and Isha prayers en masse.
Students unfurled a large banner reading “Gaza Solidarity Camp” and instead of returning home at night, they chose to stay overnight in the same area where they started their sit-in.
The incident at Columbia University
At Columbia University in New York City, US, pro-Palestinian students staged a sit-in on the campus lawn to protest the school’s continued financial investments in companies that support the occupation of Palestine and the genocide in Gaza.
Rector Minouche Shafik argued that the demonstration “posed a threat” to the functioning of the university and asked the New York police to help disperse the protesters.
Police entered the campus and intervened in the sit-in protest, detaining around 108 students. The school administration also suspended some students involved in the protest.
Chancellor Shafik’s stance reignited the debate over the “free speech” restrictions against Palestinian students at US universities that began after October 7, 2023.
In a statement yesterday, the United Nations (UN) reacted to the detention of students protesting at Columbia University.
