College protests live: New York mayor weighs in on Columbia pro-Palestine chaos and blames ‘organizing effort’

Nine people were arrested on Tuesday at the University of Minnesota after students were asked to disperse a pro-Palestinian protest encampment on campus.

Early on Tuesday, the group were asked to disperse or face arrests if they chose to stay past the time. Those nine who chose to remain were arrested without incident.

A spokesperson for U of M told CBS News that it “supports and respects free speech through lawful protest,” but that “tents are not allowed on any University property for any purpose without a permit.”

It is unclear if the nine individuals, who were released Tuesday afternoon, were students.

President Joe Biden has condemned antisemitic protests at campuses like Columbia University, while at the same time saying people should understand what is happening to the Palestinians.

The remarks came as Columbia held classes virtually after a wave of protests regarding the war in Gaza. Student-led protest encampments garnered national attention, which led to some Jewish students saying they felt unsafe.

“I condemn the antisemitic protests,” he said in response to questions from reporters on Monday. “That’s why I have set up a program to deal with that. I also condemn those who don’t understand what’s going on with the Palestinians.”

An organisation of Columbia University and Barnard College professors is calling to censure the school’s president over her handling of pro-Palestine student protests.

The Columbia and Barnard chapter of the American Association of University Professors will submit a censure proposal to the university’s senate, according to the Columbia Spectator, a student newspaper. The university senate, a policy-making body for the school, is made up of administrators, faculty, staff, alumni and students. They are expected to vote as soon as Wednesday on the censure submitted by the faculty members.

The censure condemns university president Minouche Shafik’s decision to ask the New York City Police Department to remove and arrest students staging a “Gaza Solidarity Encampment” on the campus. Officers arrested some 100 students on Thursday. This decision “violated the fundamental obligations of shared governance,” the censure text, obtained by The Independent, reads.

“We are calling for the censure of President Shafik, not for her resignation,” the censure reads. “We are calling for a recommitment to our core values on the part of our president, her administration, and the Board of Trustees. At the same time we condemn unequivocally any political interference in the governance of our university. That power rightfully belongs in the first instance to the faculty.”

New York mayor Eric Adams has claimed that there is a “concerted organising effort” amid the various New York campus protests that is seeking to caus unrest in the city.

Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, Mr Adams seemed suspicious of tents used in protest encampments.

“[There] is a number of people, who are really trying to use [the protests] to cause violence in our city, and we’re gonna seek them out and we’re gonna identify them,” he said.

He added: “Why is everybody’s tent the same? Was there a fire sale on those tents? There some organizing going on there’s a well concerted organizing effort and what’s the goal of that organizing?

“That’s what we need to be asking ourselves.”

Students at Emerson College in Boston have set up tents as part of the protest encampment to stand in solidarity with Palestine and call on the university to divest financial ties to the Gaza war.