Morningside Heights (Manhattan, NY)

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    Columbia Professors Host Alternative Graduation for NYC Students

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    Approximately 550 students, professors and religious leaders gathered near the Columbia University campus in Manhattan on Thursday afternoon for what organizers called an alternative graduation ceremony, featuring speeches by pro-Palestinian activists and writers, and clergy from various faiths.The two-hour event, called “The People’s Graduation” and organized by Columbia faculty and staff, was held toward the end of a week of official graduation ceremonies, many of which the university moved to its athletic complex some 100 blocks north to avoid disruptions by protesters.“People are feeling very alienated from the college and the university and they wanted a space where they could celebrate their accomplishments and express themselves politically,” said Nara Milanich, a professor of history at Barnard College, who attended the event.Many students had expressed dismay when Columbia’s leadership canceled the university’s main commencement ceremony, and moved most events off campus. In the weeks leading up to graduation, the school’s administration had called the police twice to remove protesters from its Morningside Heights campus, where students established a pro-Palestinian encampment and occupied a building.In a letter to the New York Police Department in April, Columbia’s president, Nemat Shafik, requested that the police remain on campus until at least May 17 “to maintain order and ensure encampments are not reestablished.”Administrators said they were “deeply disappointed” at having to change plans for graduation, but said the security issues were “insurmountable.”During the alternative event on Thursday, held at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, college students from across New York City attended, and many wore the powder blue caps and gowns of Columbia. Some speakers grew emotional as the Palestinian-American poet Fady Joudah read his poem “Dedication,” which he wrote during the first three months of the war in Gaza.Toward the end of the ceremony, organizers played a video message from Hind Khoudary, a Palestinian journalist in Gaza, who thanked the protesters for their actions.“We never imagined that anyone is gonna ever give us hope the way you guys did,” she said. “Hopefully I’ll see you one day soon when all of this ends.” More

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      Columbia Asks N.Y.P.D. to Stay on Campus Through Middle of May

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      Columbia University asked the New York Police Department in a letter on Tuesday to clear a building occupied by pro-Palestinian protesters and encampments, and asked that the police remain on campus until at least May 17, after commencement.President Nemak Shafit requested the N.Y.P.D.’s assistance in a letter that was released after police entered Hamilton Hall and arrested protesters that had occupied the building on early Tuesday. Columbia’s commencement is currently scheduled for May 15.By late evening, dozens of police officers had arrived, climbed through windows on campus and arrested protesters who had occupied a building since early Tuesday. Much of the campus had been cleared of people, although dozens of protesters still chanted outside of its gates.Dr. Shafik said in the letter that “the takeover of Hamilton Hall and the continued encampments raise serious safety concerns for the individuals involved and the entire community,” adding that “these activities have become a magnet for protesters outside our gates which creates significant risk to our campus and disrupts the ability of the University to continue normal operations.”A decision earlier this month to bring police onto campus to clear a tent protest led to sharp criticism from some students and faculty. But Dr. Shafik said on Tuesday that she was left with “no choice.”“With the support of the University’s Trustees, I have determined that the building occupation, the encampments, and related disruptions pose a clear and present danger to persons, property, and the substantial functioning of the University and require the use of emergency authority to protect persons and property,” she wrote.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Text of April 30 Letter From Columbia’s President to N.Y.P.D.

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      Dozens of pro-Palestinian demonstrators at Columbia University in Manhattan were arrested Tuesday night by hundreds of police officers in riot gear.Columbia’s president, Nemat Shafik, who goes by Minouche, said in a letter to the New York Police Department that her decision to request its intervention had been made with the support of the university’s trustees and that the actions of demonstrators “have become a magnet for protesters outside our gates, which creates significant risk to our campus.” The following is the text of the letter from Columbia’s website.Letter to NYPD – Apr. 30April 30, 2024The letter below was sent by President Minouche Shafik to the New York Police Department’s deputy commissioner for legal matters on April 30, 2024.April 30, 2024Michael Gerber, Deputy Commissioner, Legal MattersNew York City Police DepartmentDear Deputy Commissioner Gerber,I write with regard to the unrest on Columbia’s campus.As we have discussed, in the early morning of April 30, 2024 a group of individuals entered Hamilton Hall for the purpose of occupying the building. The building was closed at the time the students entered. An individual hid in the building until after it closed and let the other individuals in. There were two security guards inside. We were able to secure their release. We believe that while the group who broke into the building includes students, it is led by individuals who are not affiliated with the University. The individuals who have occupied Hamilton Hall have vandalized University property and are trespassing.In addition, we have had a continuing encampment on the West Lawn of the Morningside campus since Friday, April 19, 2024. Last night an additional encampment appeared on the Math Lawn.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Columbia Sets Midnight Deadline For Talks to End Encampment

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      The university, which asked the police to arrest protesters last week, will consider “alternative options” for clearing the lawn if an agreement is not reached.Columbia University set a midnight deadline late on Tuesday for an encampment of student protesters to disband, after which New York City police could be sent in to clear the grounds and make arrests.In an email to the university two hours before midnight, Columbia’s president, Nemat Shafik, said university administrators were in talks with student organizers in an attempt to reach an agreement before the deadline, after which the school would consider “alternative options” for clearing the lawn.Nearly a week ago, Dr. Shafik took the extraordinary step of enlisting city police in riot gear to arrest more than 100 activists who had refused to leave the tent village protesting Israel’s war in Gaza. That touched off criticism from all sides about her handling of the campus protests. The encampment re-emerged larger than the initial one after it was cleared.When Dr. Shafik’s letter landed in inboxes late Tuesday, protesters and others who were gathered outside the campus gates began reading it out loud. Chants rose up about the midnight deadline.On campus, the scene was mostly calm as about 100 people stood around talking to each other inside the encampment.After months of demonstrations on campuses protesting the war in Gaza, the unrest has reached a fever pitch in the final weeks of classes at some of the country’s most storied academic institutions. On Monday, police were called in to make arrests at Yale and New York University. Encampments have also sprung up at Tufts, Emerson and the University of California, Berkeley.Administrators have been struggling to balance students’ free speech rights and the need to protect Jewish students. Some demonstrations have included hate speech, threats or support for Hamas, the armed group based in Gaza that led attacks on Israel on Oct. 7, sparking the war.At Columbia, some faculty members circulated a draft resolution to censure the president over what they called an “unprecedented assault on student rights.” At least one major Jewish donor cut off support, saying the university was not doing enough to protect students. More