Columbia students kick-start fall semester with pro-Palestine protest
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This presents a fresh challenge for school officials after the last school year's protests turned violent following police crackdowns and punitive measures against protesters.
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A pro-Palestine demonstration at Columbia University in New York, USA, on Tuesday, September 3, 2024. (AP)
Students at Columbia University kick-started their fall semester with a pro-Palestine protest against the university’s continued support for "Israel’s" genocidal war on Gaza and the repression of pro-Palestine student voices.
About 50 people protested in front of Columbia’s main gates Tuesday holding Palestinian flags and shouting “Free Palestine!” Most protesters were wearing masks over their mouths and a black-and-white scarf on their heads known as a Koufiyyeh, a symbol of Palestinian solidarity.
Columbia closed some entrances and limited campus access to students, staff, and guests with authorization, according to the university’s website.
On X, Columbia University Apartheid Divest posted that while students in New York have the privilege of moving into dorms, "715,000 Gazan children receive their US-backed education in the form of airstrikes: dumb bombs, BLU-109s, MK-82s, GBU-39s, JDAMs, white phosphorous."
The death and destruction we're seeing in Gaza is funded by @Columbia's investments. Columbia University invests in the bombs and weapons that are used to destroy Palestine. We say no more. Join us & @ColumbiaSJP RIGHT NOW #Picket4Palestine pic.twitter.com/cjc9lGRcPu
— CU Apartheid Divest (@ColumbiaBDS) September 3, 2024
The group further noted that the bombs falling on the people of Gaza are not only manufactured in the US but also facilitated by "Columbia University's investments in the imperial war machine."
NOW: On first day of classes, Pro-Palestine protesters have created a picket outside of Columbia University, demanding to "Shut It Down" and telling students - "Don't Go to Classes, Do Not Enter, Call Out Sick".
— Oliya Scootercaster 🛴 (@ScooterCasterNY) September 3, 2024
Huge line of students has formed around the block to go in.
Video… pic.twitter.com/rwSkFxHadi
Meanwhile, Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine posted on X that it was "just the beginning," vowing, "We will not stop & we will not rest until Columbia divests from apartheid and genocide."
VIDEO: Columbia University Alma Mater statue dripping in red paint on the first day of fall classes as students protest against the university’s continue support for genocide.
— Talia Jane ❤️🔥 (@taliaotg) September 3, 2024
Provided anon. https://t.co/ryMQTg2eeJ pic.twitter.com/IaHmQEXBKr
Weeks ago, universities across the United States witnessed a historic surge in student protests in support of Palestine and Gaza, calling for ending all agreements with "Israel" and divesting from the occupation entity. Students also demanded an end to the US support to "Israel" and involvement in the genocidal war.
HAPPENING NOW: Columbia students are picketing on the first day of classes to demand the university divest from Israel. As the admin works to suppress their right to peacefully protest for Gaza, students say they’re more determined than ever to mobilize. pic.twitter.com/AhV6id4YCz
— BreakThrough News (@BTnewsroom) September 3, 2024
Last week, San Francisco State University (SFSU) withdrew its investments from four firms aiding "Israel's" ongoing genocide in Gaza, a move celebrated by pro-Palestinian activists and considered a "major victory" for the divestment movement.
Students for Gaza SFSU announced during a press conference and rally on the campus Malcolm X Plaza that the institution will divest its corporate bonds holdings from American aerospace and arms company Lockheed Martin Corporation, Italian defense firm Leonardo, US-based data analytics company Palantir Technologies, and construction equipment manufacturer Caterpillar.
These corporations have been described as "profiting from the Gaza genocide" by the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC).
In addition, a US branch of "Israel's" largest arms manufacturer, Elbit Systems, has announced the termination of its office lease in Cambridge following months of pro-Palestinian demonstrations led by Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) Boston.
Columbia U president steps down months after Gaza campus protests
Last month, Columbia University President Minouche Shafik announced she was stepping down following months of campus unrest and anti-genocide protests amid "Israel's" onslaught in Gaza, as revealed in a letter she sent to the Columbia community, which was obtained by CNN and confirmed by a university spokesperson.
Shafik, an Egyptian-born economist and former top official at the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, and Bank of England, as well as the ex-president of the London School of Economics, has faced criticism over her response to campus protests regarding the conflict.
In her letter on Wednesday, Shafik acknowledged the progress made during her tenure but noted that it has "also been a period of turmoil where it has been difficult to overcome divergent views across our community."
As the campus situation took a "considerable toll" on her, her family, and the Columbia community, Shafik decided the best course of action would be her resignation.
"I have tried to navigate a path that upholds academic principles and treats everyone with fairness and compassion. It has been distressing—for the community, for me as president, and on a personal level—to find myself, colleagues, and students the subject of threats and abuse," she added.
Minouche Shafik has officially stepped down as president of Columbia University. pic.twitter.com/7GdtP3J10w
— maryam مريم🇵🇸🍁 (@bluepashminas) August 15, 2024
In May, faculty members of Columbia University's School of Arts and Sciences passed a motion of "no confidence" against President Minouche Shafik over her response to the student protesters demanding an end to the bloodshed in Gaza.
Of the 709 faculty members who participated in the vote, 65% supported the no-confidence motion. The motion was put forward by faculty members on the board of Columbia’s chapter of the American Association of University Professors. According to The Washington Post, 29% voted against the motion, while 6% abstained.
The faculty's dissatisfaction is over Shafik’s decision to involve the New York Police Department (NYPD) in dismantling a pro-Palestine protest encampment on university grounds through violent means without prior consultation with the university senate.
