What to Know
- Pro-Palestinian groups are protesting at colleges and universities across America, an outgrowth of a demonstration that yielded dozens of arrests at Columbia University last week
- Tensions have only escalated in the weeks since, with the NYPD called to assist in clearing protesters at Columbia and NYU; an encampment remains on one of Columbia's lawns as negotiations with the school and protesters continue
- The protesters are calling on Columbia and other colleges and universities to divest from companies providing funding to Israel and its action in the Israel-Hamas war
Rumored deadlines of a sweep of the Columbia University encampment have come and gone, but students protesting on the Manahttan campus continued their efforts Friday to urge the administration to divest from companies providing funding to Israel.
Negotiations between university administrators and protesters occupying the school's West Lawn have stretched into another day despite word police were expected to move in overnight.
“There is a rumor that the NYPD has been invited to campus this evening. This rumor is false,” the university told NBC News late Thursday. "The talks have shown progress and are continuing as planned."
While there has not been an influx of police on campus, hundreds of pro-Israel counterprotesters have amassed around the university in an effort to show support of Jewish students.
Tensions between the two groups ramped up Thursday night as the dueling groups shouted through campus gates. Several hundred more from the pro-Israel group returned to campus Friday morning.
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"We feel that a group of students who maybe don't have all the information that they need are allowed to take over a campus and scare our Jewish students, and that's not okay," one of the counterprotesters, Fran Snowise, told News 4.
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"This is a result of the TikTok algorithm. It's 50-to-1, pro-Hamas vs. pro-Israel," Danna Nezaria claimed.
The students said they will not leave the lawn until the school complies with demands to cut ties with Israeli-linked companies. The students have also asked the university to show leniency for students suspended or arrested for joining the encampment.
U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar, whose daughter was among those arrested at Columbia last week, visited the campus Thursday, meeting with protesters. “I’m in awe of their bravery and courage,” she said in a post on X.
A few dozen protesters set up tents and occupied a building Thursday at the Fashion Institute of Technology, part of the public State University of New York system. Protesters sat on the floor or milled around, many wearing face masks and keffiyas. Other protesters outside the building held signs and Palestinian flags. They refused to speak to a reporter.
Students at The City College of New York in Harlem set up an encampment. On Thursday evening, a mix of New York police officers and campus security guards confronted protesters. But they were quickly outnumbered by protesters, who locked arms and cut off their path. The officers retreated, drawing cheers from the encampment.
