Columbia University threatens suspension over pro-Palestinian protests
Al Jazeera
Administrators said student protesters would be suspended if they did not disperse the encampment on the university lawn.
Columbia University, a prestigious Ivy League school in the United States, has announced that its negotiations with student protesters has fallen through, opening up the potential for severe consequences for those involved in a pro-Palestinian encampment on campus.
“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,” Columbia president Nemat Minouche Shafik wrote in a statement on Monday.
“Regretfully, we were not able to come to an agreement.”
The statement came on the same day that the New York City-based university issued a new deadline for the encampment to disperse: 2pm local time (18:00 GMT).
But the latest deadline came and went, with protesters bracing themselves for the possibility of consequences as their push for a ceasefire in Gaza stretched into its third week.
