Columbia U declares campus classes to be held hybrid amid protests
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A letter from the university declares that faculty "should hold classes remotely" when the hybrid option isn't compatible with some classes, and if students requested online participation.
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New York University students and pro-Palestinian supporters rally outside the NYU Stern School of Business building, Monday, April 22, 2024, in New York. (AP)
Following the surge in pro-Palestine protests in US universities and a series of ensuing crackdowns, Columbia University announced that courses at its Morningside campus are to be held in a hybrid format for the rest of the spring semester.
In a letter on Monday, the provost’s office said: "Morningside main campus: All courses hybrid - classroom technology permitting - until the end of each school’s Spring 2024 semester" aside from those in "practice-based programs" which would be held "in-person with generous accommodations supported by school deans and staff".
It continued that faculty "should hold classes remotely" when the hybrid option isn't compatible with some classes, and if students requested online participation.
This comes after New York University on Monday evening witnessed police intervention as protests grew, making arrests shortly after 8:30 pm. The university urged students to disperse the protests, citing "intimidating chants and several antisemitic incidents," leading to police intervention.
Read next: Yale students begin hunger strike to demand divestment amid Gaza war
At Yale University, approximately 45 student protesters were arrested and charged with misdemeanors and trespassing after around 200 pro-Palestine demonstrators camped out on Beinecke Plaza for three days. The protesters urged Yale to cease any investments in defense companies doing business with "Israel".
The protests mark a fresh focal point in US universities, where demonstrations have persisted and were intensified following administrative decisions to involve law enforcement in dispersing sit-ins.
Meanwhile, at Columbia University, the administration shifted classes online on Monday due to ongoing protests. Hundreds of students had set up encampments on campus since the previous week, demanding a ceasefire in Gaza, criticizing the Biden administration's support for "Israel", and calling for Columbia to divest its financial connections with "Israel" in light of the ongoing Israeli aggression on Gaza.
Universities that have set up Gaza solidarity camps so far ( that I know of):
— Charlie from the river to the sea 🇵🇸 تشارلي ديبه (@IMDibe) April 22, 2024
Barnard
UC Berkeley
Columbia
Emerson
U of Maryland
U of Michigan
MIT
The New School
NYU
Rutgers
Tufts
Vanderbilt
Washington U
Yale
Please add any that I missed
MIT students have been calling for the institution to want the school to cut its ties with the Israeli occupation forces while Emerson students are calling for their institution to support "Palestinian liberation."
In this context, US President Joe Biden has denounced the "antisemitic protests" and "those who don’t understand what’s going on with the Palestinians."
