PRETTY PLEASE: Columbia asks terrorist-endorsed occupiers to 'please' leave before graduation, promises they can 'continue' afterward
Columbia University President Minouche Shafik pleaded with anti-Israel protesters on campus to take down their campus occupation so that graduation could be held.
UPDATE: A Columbia University spokesperson told Campus Reform just after 2 p.m. said that a police response is “off the table.”
Columbia University President Minouche Shafik pleaded with anti-Israel protesters on campus to take down their campus occupation so that graduation could be held.
CNN reported that protesters in the Columbia occupation area were handed a letter on Monday morning that states students inside the encampment would be placed on interim suspension if they don’t leave by 2 p.m. and would be to additional disciplinary actions. Students can avoid suspension and any other disciplinary action by signing a form and handing it into Columbia employees while leaving the encampment.
The letter to students inside the encampment comes after Shafik wrote in a Monday morning statement that talks between university representatives and protest leaders have broken down.
”To that end, since Wednesday, a small group of academic leaders has been in constructive dialogue with student organizers to find a path that would result in the dismantling of the encampment and adherence to University policies going forward. Regretfully, we were not able to come to an agreement,” wrote Shafik.
Shafik also pleaded with protesters to leave campus so the university can hold a graduation ceremony.
”We also do not want to deprive thousands of students and their families and friends of a graduation celebration,” she wrote. “Please recall that many in this graduating class did not get a celebration when graduating from high school because of the pandemic, and many of them are the first in their families to earn a University degree. We owe it to all of our graduates and their loved ones to honor their achievement. We want to reassure our community who are trying to make plans that we will indeed hold a Commencement.”
While the Columbia president didn’t outline actions she may take if protesters don’t leave, she wrote “We are consulting with a broader group in our community to explore alternative internal options to end this crisis as soon as possible.”
However, Shafik said protests can continue once the commencement ceremony is over.
”Consistent with our interim demonstration policies, after reading days, exams, and Commencement, protests may continue on campus by application with two-days’ notice in authorized locations. We have no intention of suppressing speech or the right to peaceful protest,” she wrote.
Meanwhile, Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine, an organizer of the campus occupation, told students in a post on X to not sign anything that the university hands out.
ACTION ALERT:
- Columbia University admin threatens MASS SUSPENSIONS and DISCIPLINARY PROBATION (until June 2025) to Gaza Solidarity Encampment participants who don’t leave by 2 PM.
- Do not sign anything with administration.
- Show up at NOON to protect the encampment! ❤️🔥 pic.twitter.com/v1Qw5gXu0q— Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine (@ColumbiaSJP) April 29, 2024
Shafik also wrote in the statement that “External actors have contributed to creating a hostile environment in violation of Title VI, especially around our gates, that is unsafe for everyone—including our neighbors.”
One protester responded by writing on the notice handed to students, which states: “Columbia will burn.”
Day 13 at the Columbia encampment—students have been given a 2pm deadline to vacate.
This is the response from a suspended student, Aidan Parisi
“COLUMBIA WILL BURN”@FreeBeacon pic.twitter.com/Odbjr4l1yQ— Jessica Costescu (@JessicaCostescu) April 29, 2024
Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) said in a statement to Campus Reform that “This is an absolute disgrace and an abject failure of university leadership.”
”It is telling that in this entire statement there is not a single condemnation of the vile antisemitism that is rampant in the illegal encampment. There is not a single mention of protecting Jewish students from raging antisemitism at Columbia,” said Stefanik. “As these so-called “elite” universities fail on the global stage, it is more important than ever that Congress hold them accountable.”
As Campus Reform reported, Jewish students walking by the protest were yelled at and told to “Go back to Europe” and “go back to Poland,” according to one X user.
”You have no culture” and “All you do is colonize,” were yelled by protesters.
In one instance, protesters yelled in Arabic “Oh Hamas, oh loved one, hit/strike Tel Aviv,” video on social media showed.
In another video posted to X, the protesters could be heard yelling “We have Zionists who have entered the camp.”
”We are going to create a human chain..so that they do not pass this point and infringe upon our privacy and try to disrupt our community,” the protesters shouted.
[RELATED: Hamas-endorsed Harvard protesters raise Palestinian flag where USA flag flies on campus]
”We are going to slowly walk and take a step froward so that we can start to push them out of the camp,” they shouted.
One protester at Columbia held a sign reading “Al-Qasam’s next targets” with an arrow pointing to a group of individuals holding American flags.
