April 29, 2024 - Columbia begins suspending student protesters

Our live coverage of the protests has moved here.

Demonstrators supporting Palestinians in Gaza barricade themselves inside Columbia University's Hamilton Hall in New York City, on April 30.

Dozens of Columbia University students are occupying Hamilton Hall, one of the campus buildings occupied during 1968 student protests, according to a social media post early Tuesday from?Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine.?

Overnight, protesters on campus made their way?from the West Lawn encampment to Hamilton Hall, one of the main academic buildings for undergraduates.

A large group of protesters rallied in front of Hamilton Hall early Tuesday, chanting the call-and-response, “What do we want? Justice. When do we want it? Now.”

Hours earlier, the university announced it had begun suspending students who refused to leave the encampment before a 2 p.m. Monday deadline set by the administration.

CNN has reached?out to Columbia University and the New York Police Department for more information.???

At least six protesters were arrested at Tulane University on Monday after tents were set up on the campus in New Orleans that day,?a university public safety official said.

“Today, participants in a protest that was unregistered and unsanctioned by Tulane University stormed university property and erected tents on the edge of the lawn in front of Gibson Hall near the sidewalk,”?said Kirk Bouyelas, Tulane’s associate vice president for public safety.

After university police warned protesters not to enter school property, they began arresting people and clearing tents, Bouyelas said. He called it an “ongoing situation.”

The protesters were arrested on suspicion of offenses including trespassing, battery on an officer and resisting arrest, according to Bouyelas.

“We are working with local law enforcement and government officials to resolve the situation. The safety and well-being of the members of the Tulane community is our top priority,” he said.?

Demonstrators set up tables as protection against a possible police intervention as they protest over the Israel-Hamas war at the?University?of?Wisconsin-Milwaukee?on Monday.?

The University of?Wisconsin-Milwaukee warned protesters who established an encampment on its campus Monday that “camping on campus grounds is unlawful” and violates state code.

“The vast majority of protests on UWM’s campus during the last several months have been peaceful and lawful, and UWM is steadfast in respecting the right to free speech. At the same time, it is critical that we maintain a safe and welcoming environment for our students, employees and visitors,” the school said in a release.

The university also reiterated its calls for a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of hostages.

The university said it has received a list of demands from protesters, which includes calls to suspend academic ties with Israeli institutions.

“While UWM does not have any active study abroad programs with universities in Israel, prohibiting faculty from engaging with any institution or country would infringe on their academic freedom. Although we understand the protesters’ desire for the safety and peace of all those in Gaza, stifling academic freedom or free speech would not accomplish that goal,” the university said.

Amid widespread calls from US student protesters for their schools to divest from entities that profit from the war in Gaza, the school also said it “has no investments in weapons manufacturers.”

Many of the concerns from protesters were addressed in meetings between students and administrators, the university said.

“We ask again that people respect each other’s diverse viewpoints as well as the laws so that we can all feel safe and welcome here,” the school concluded in its statement.

Law enforcement responds to a protest at Virginia Commonwealth University on Monday, April 29.

Police in Richmond responded to protesters at Virginia Commonwealth University’s campus Monday.

Video from CNN affiliate WWBT shows people being taken into custody.

Dozens of protesters gathered near the university’s library in an area they’ve called a “liberation zone,” according to WWBT. Video from the affiliate shows officers in riot gear apprehending individuals and throwing one person to the ground while shouting:?“Stop resisting. You’re under arrest.”

In a statement to CNN, Virginia Commonwealth University said the gathering “violated several university policies.”

Both students and non-students were arrested and the university is dismantling the encampment, according to Virginia Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears. She noted a “significant number” of non-students were in the crowd. A Virginia State Police spokesperson said the department responded to the protest to assist campus police.

In a Monday evening advisory on its website, the university initially described the protests as “violent,” but later removed the advisory language from its website and instead described the gathering as a “public assembly.”

A university spokesperson declined to comment when asked about the change in language.

CNN’s Aaron Eggleston contributed to this report

University of Southern California President?Carol Folt said she met with student organizers of campus protests Monday, but conceded that no agreement has been reached.

The meeting, which also included a faculty member, lasted about 90 minutes, the president said. Folt said she plans to meet with the group again tomorrow.

“I think we need to continue to have those conversations, and I’m pleased we all agree on that. We’ll go day by day,” she said.?

Some of the pro-Palestinian demonstrators who were taken into custody at UT-Austin on Monday were arrested on suspicion of trespassing, while others are accused of disorderly conduct after refusing to disperse, university officials said in a statement.?

Demonstrators set up an encampment that included a “barricade enclosure of tables secured by metal chains, and strategically placed tools, tents, and rocks,” the statement read.?

?Protesters “escalated” the situation, and in response, officials “took swift action to preserve a safe, conducive learning environment for our 53,000 students as they prepare for final exams,” according to the statement.?

In a statement to CNN Monday, Travis County Attorney Delia Garza said she was concerned the protests on “could escalate and lead to more disruption and violence.”?

“I have begun discussions with the University administration and am hopeful that a reasonable solution can be reached to ensure everyone involved is kept safe and their constitutional rights protected,” Garza said. “We will continue to collaborate with our partners and individually review each case that is presented to our office.”

Nine people were arrested Monday evening at the University of Florida campus protests in Gainesville, Florida, according to Cynthia Roldán Hernández, UF director of public affairs.

CNN has reached out to the Gainesville Police Department for additional information.?

A Texas State trooper stands gurad near pro-Palestinian demomstrators at the University of Texas in Austin, Texas, on April 29.

Dozens of people were arrested Monday at a protest on the campus of University of Texas at Austin, according to the university’s Defend Palestine Encampment, who also alleged that officers used force to take people into custody.

The encampment was formed on the school’s South Mall Lawn around 12:30 p.m. CT, and around an hour later, officers from the Texas Department of Public Safety, the Austin Police Department and campus police responded wearing riot gear, a news release from organizers said.?

The university is working on compiling information, including the number of people arrested, for a news release later Monday, said?Brian Davis, senior manager for issues and crisis communications at the university.?

The Travis County Sheriff’s Office will not have a total number of arrests until Tuesday morning, spokesperson Kristen Dark told CNN.?

CNN has reached out to the Department of Public Safety for comment.?

“We demand that UT divest from the Zionist state of Israel and from all institutions and companies that are enabling the current genocide in Gaza … We demand the resignation of President (Jay) Hartzell for green-lighting the militarized repression of peaceful student protesters on their own campus,” Lenna Nasr, of the Palestinian Youth Movement, said in the news release.?

CNN’s Joe Sutton?and Cindy Von Quednow?contributed to this report.?

Cornell University?is suspending students after an encampment on campus declined to move to an alternate location, President?Martha E. Pollack?said in a message Monday.?

Cornell University leaders then offered an alternative location for the encampment, according?to Pollack.?

“With an approved permit in hand, the protesters could have remained in the alternative location, per our policies, thereby avoiding disciplinary sanctions,” Pollack’s?message said.?

Suspensions followed throughout the weekend as university leaders tried again to give the encampment, an “opportunity to move to the alternate location.”?

“Since last Thursday, we have tried to engage thoughtfully with the participants, and will try to continue to do so. But we need to soon get to a resolution that respects our policies, promotes the public health and safety of the community, and preserves the rights of all to do their work,” Pollack said.?

CNN’s Michelle Watson contributed to this report?

Mahmoud Khalil speaks with CNN on Monday, April 29.

In a conversation with CNN’s Wolf Blitzer, Columbia student lead negotiator Mahmoud Khalil, discussed what he called an “anti-Palestinian narrative” at the school amid pro-Palestinian protests.

Khalil was also asked what he would say to Jewish students who feel unsafe on campus.

Hundreds of people have been arrested on college and university campuses from coast to coast as schools prepare for spring commencement ceremonies. The?University of Southern California — where nearly 100 protesters were arrested April 24 —?canceled?its primary commencement event.

Protesters have been arrested on more than 20 campuses across at least 16 states. Many other schools have experienced protests without arrests.

CNN is monitoring campus protests and will continue to update this map with any new arrests.

Pro-Palestinian students and activists set up a protest encampment on the campus at the University of California at Irvine on Monday, April 29, in Irvine, California.

Local law enforcement officials have arrived on the University of California Irvine campus after being called to assist campus police, officials said.

Campus officers are joined by city of Irvine police at the pro-Palestinian protest in the school’s physical sciences plaza, according to university spokesman Tom Vasich.

The Orange County Sheriff was asked to send additional personnel to assist, department Sgt. Matthew Parrish told CNN.?

Vasich estimates there are about 100 protesters in the area, including some not affiliated with the university. About 10 tents have been erected in violation of university policy, he said. The sheriff’s department was called in for support only, he added.

Irvine Mayor Farrah Khan issued a statement “preemptively condemning” any police action that might violate the First Amendment rights of the protesters.

About a dozen protesters remain outside the main gates of Columbia University on 116th?Street and Broadway in New York.

The protesters are no longer chanting but are milling around in the pens outside the gates.

At its peak, CNN witnessed at least 60 protesters gathered outside the gates, chanting and holding signs.

Columbia sophomore, David Lederer, waves a large flag of Israel outside the student protest encampment on the Columbia University campus, on Monday, April 29,in New York.

?A Columbia University student said he flew a large Israeli flag above pro-Palestinian protests on campus Monday to show that Jewish students will not be intimidated by those marching on campus today.

Lederer, who flew the flag about two hours after the 2 p.m. ET deadline set by the administration to clear the encampment, previously?told CNN in an interview?that he and his brother were harassed and assaulted on campus by pro-Palestinian protesters.?

Pro-Palestinian protesters voted to defy the campus order to vacate and stay in the encampment.

Pro-Palestinian demonstrators hold a short rally after marching around the "Gaza Solidarity Encampment" in the West Lawn of Columbia University on Monday, April 29, in New York.

Columbia University has begun suspending student protesters who refused to vacate the on-campus encampment by the 2 p.m. ET deadline set by the administration.

These students will not be eligible to complete the semester or graduate and won’t be allowed in university housing and academic buildings, the New York-based university said.

“Once disciplinary action is initiated, adjudication is handled by several different units within the university?based on the nature of the offense,” Vice President of Public Affairs Ben?Chang?said during a briefing Monday evening.??

The two bodies overseeing this disciplinary process are the Office of University Life and the university’s senate, a policy-making group that represents students and faculty.

“Decisions made by the Office of University Life can be appealed to the dean of the student’s school,” said Chang. “Decisions made by the senate can be appealed to a panel of deans and, ultimately, the university’s president.”

Chang added that the university asked student protesters to remove the encampment, in part, to make sure that the university’s commencement ceremony for its 15,000 graduates can continue as planned.

The students at Columbia,?the epicenter of the weeklong pro-Palestinian protests, had earlier voted to defy the order and stay.

The post was updated with more details from Monday’s news briefing.

A person walks past a pro-Palestinian encampment at Northwestern University, on Sunday, April 28, in Evanston, Illlinois.

Northwestern University on Monday announced an agreement with student demonstrators to limit the scope of the campus protest and end the encampment at Deering Meadow, the school?said in a news release.

Through negotiations with “a group of students and faculty who represent the majority of the protesters on Deering Meadow,” both parties agreed to limit the scope of the protest, while granting some of the organizers’ requests for transparency and free speech protections.

According to the agreement, protesters will be allowed at the site through the end of spring classes — on June 1 — as long as the scope is reduced to one aid tent, sound amplifiers are within university policy and participants are limited to those affiliated with the university.?

The University will also be reconvening its Advisory Committee on Investment and Responsibility in the fall, and in the agreement committed to additional transparency regarding specific investment holdings. Additionally, the University announced it will commit to supporting Palestinian faculty and students, including fully funding the cost of attendance for five Palestinian students and constructing a community space for Middle Eastern and North African/Muslim students.

In a series of Instagram posts, the Northwestern Divestment Coalition, which was involved in establishing the encampment, called the agreement a “first step” toward divestment, saying it was approved by elected representatives in a 17-1 vote. The coalition represents student groups including NU Students for Justice in Palestine and NU Jewish Voice for Peace.

Monday marked the fifth day of the encampment at Northwestern. Counter-protesters and police were present at the encampment sporadically, and the atmosphere remained peaceful and nonviolent over the weekend.

Several protesters have been arrested at UT-Austin Monday, most of whom are not believed to be affiliated with the university, school officials said in a statement.?

Over the weekend, the university received “extensive online threats” from a group that organized Monday’s demonstrations, officials said in the statement.?

The statement added that the threats were reported to local, state and federal law enforcement officials without elaborating.?

“The University will continue to support the free speech and assembly rights of our community while also enforcing its Institutional Rules,” the statement read.?

Protesters wave Palestinian flags on the West Lawn of Columbia University on April 29, 2024. Student demonstrators at Columbia University, the epicenter of pro-Palestinian protests that have erupted at US colleges, said Monday they would not budge until the school met their demands, defying an ultimatum to disperse or face suspension.?

Pro-Palestinian protests on college campuses have entered their second week – just as many universities prepare for graduation ceremonies in the coming weeks.

Hundreds of students have been arrested by law enforcement on various campuses.

A?central demand?of protesters is for universities to divest from Israel-linked companies that they say are profiting from the war in Gaza..

Here’s what you should know:

More arrests and warnings:

Divestment negotiations:

Schools weigh graduation ceremonies:

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre speaks during the daily briefing at the White House in Washington, DC on April 29.

The White House declined to say if President Joe Biden believes that demonstrators who’ve camped out on college campuses across the country to protest against the war in Gaza should face disciplinary actions, repeating the president’s support for the right to peacefully protest while criticizing antisemitic rhetoric and calls for violence.?

The press secretary acknowledged what she called “a painful moment” as the civilian toll in Gaza continues to rise, adding, “We get that it is a painful moment that Americans are dealing with, and free expression has to be done within the law.”?

However, House Speaker Mike Johnson indicated he would consider pulling federal funding to college campuses roiled by protests.

Johnson visited Columbia University last week to meet with Jewish students and delivered remarks with other Republican lawmakers. When Johnson and the GOP lawmakers walked up to begin speaking, there were loud boos from protesters.

“It is unruly; they are allowing mob rule on some of these campuses, and Columbia University was a case in point,” he said.?

Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD), a student protest group, denounced what it called the university administration’s “attempts to stifle the student movement.” The group said protesters will not be moved except by force, as negotiations with leadership remain “off the table.”

In a news conference Monday, student Sueda Polat?said that university delegates issued disciplinary notices to protesters, alerting students they have two choices.

Students could sign a form and be put, “on academic probation on the condition that they abide by all university rules until June 30, 2025. Or until their graduation, whichever comes first,” Polat said.?“Or, the students would be interim suspended.”

Polat added that suspension would mean that these student protesters lose their housing and healthcare access, as well as losing their right to graduation if they are in their final year.

Palot also said members of the university’s leadership confirmed that a state of emergency from the university was threatened.?

In a statement to CNN, Columbia?Public Affairs said: “The rumor?of?a ‘state?of?emergency’ at Columbia University is a fabrication and totally false.?There is no?state?of?emergency.”?

Columbia faculty members protect students in the Pro-Palestinian "Gaza Solidarity Encampment" in the West Lawn of Columbia University on April 29, 2024.

Ahead of the 2:00 p.m. deadline to clear the encampment, about two dozen Columbia faculty linked arms outside the school’s lawn entrance, making a human barricade.

Earlier in the day, Columbia leadership asked protesters to voluntarily leave their encampment by the deadline or risk suspension. Protesting students overwhelmingly voted to defy the order and stay.

“Nobody thinks they should be suspended. Look at the thousands that have turned up here,” Mahmood Mamdani, a professor of anthropology at the university, told CNN’s Omar Jimenez after the deadline passed. Mamdani was one of the professors who had formed the human barricade and he expressed worry that the administration might call in police to forcibly break up the encampment.

“We teach our students not to accept things at face value. We teach them to ask questions, no matter the consequences,” Mamdani said. “The idea of penalizing students for protests? The administration has turned the site of a protest into a crime scene.”

“If I were the administration, I would have promoted discussion, not muzzled discussion,” he added.

Texas State Police have started arresting some protesters at the University of Texas at Austin. CNN’s team in Austin witnessed at least six protesters being arrested Monday afternoon.

A group of law enforcement officers in riot gear have been surrounding a group of protesters, as protests on campus enter their second week.

Virginia Tech Police arrested over 90 people, including students, at a protest encampment on the lawn at the university’s Graduate Life Center, according to the school.

“91 individuals, 54 of whom are current Virginia Tech students, were arrested and all were charged with trespassing,” the?university said in a statement.

The university said demonstrators began occupying the lawn at the university’s Graduate Life Center on Friday. By Sunday, the situation on campus had “progressed”?and had the potential to “become unsafe,” according to the university.

At about 10:15 p.m. on Sunday, Virginia Tech police advised the group to leave within five minutes or be subject to arrest.

Around the same time, the university posted on?social media: “Heavy police activity around Graduate Life Center. Urgent. Please avoid the area. Call 911 for help.”

Pro-Palestinian student protesters and activists rally at an encampment on the campus of Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, on April 29

While the demands among protesters slightly vary at each university, nearly all the demonstrations have called for divestment.

“Disclose, divest, we will not stop, we will not rest,” protesters at Columbia and universities across the country have chanted.

Here’s what to know:

Put most simply, divestment is the opposite of investment.

Many universities have an endowment, which is donated funds generally invested to help the university earn money.

Most protesters are demanding that their institutions sell investments in companies with ties to Israel.

The scope of those demands varies by school, though.

For example, at Columbia, demonstrators want the school to divest its $13.6 billion endowment from any company linked to Israel. That includes companies like Microsoft and Airbnb that do business in Israel.

Other schools, like Cornell and Yale, are asking their schools to stop investing in weapons manufacturers.

So far, no major universities have agreed to protesters’ demands to divest.

Nicholas Dirks, the former chancellor of the University of California, Berkeley, told CNN that full divestment may be more difficult than it seems.

“The economy is so global now that even if a university decided that they were going to instruct their dominant management groups to divest from Israel, it would be almost impossible to disentangle,” he said.

Pro-Palestinian supporters continue to demonstrate on the campus of Columbia University on April 29. Columbia University issued a notice to the protesters asking them to disband their encampment.?

As the 2 p.m. ET deadline for students to vacate Columbia University’s encampment or face suspension approached, students congregated in the center of the lawn and voted to stay.

The student group Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD) said in a statement: “We will not move until Columbia meets our demand or we are moved by force.”

Before the vote, the?students in the encampment stood?in a circle, taking turns speaking on a loudspeaker to discuss how to proceed after the university demanded the encampment be disbanded. The protesters?told?students with previous disciplinary actions or student visas to think deeply before staying to protect themselves.

However, students voted to stay by an overwhelming majority.

After the vote, the demonstrators cheered and clapped. A drumbeat broke?out?along?with the clapping.

Cheers of “Free Palestine!” and “Columbia, you can’t hide! You get rich off genocide!” were heard on campus. Israel denies accusations of genocide.

CUAD said it will hold a press conference at 2:30 pm outside the university’s Butler Library “to share updates on the University’s violent escalation.”

The president of Emory University is walking back a statement?made on behalf of the university last week, now saying that members of the Emory community were part of the pro-Palestine encampment on the university’s quad.?

The statement previously said that those behind the?encampment “are not members of our community.”

According to Monday’s statement from university’s President Gregory L. Fenves: “It is clear to us now that this information was not fully accurate, and I apologize for that mischaracterization.”?

Additionally, school officials have told defense attorneys that they are considering dropping the charges against those?arrested last week during the protest on the campus quad, which ended in the violent?arrest?by authorities of 28 people, according to a source familiar with the situation.?

“These individuals are not members of our community. They are activists attempting to disrupt our university as our students finish classes and prepare for finals.?Emory?does not tolerate vandalism or other criminal activity on campus,” the school’s Thursday statement had said.?

That proved to be incorrect as information about the arrests became public, including the arrest of a professor.?

Of the 28 people?arrested, 20 of them were affiliated with the university. It included Economics Professor Caroline Fohlin who, along with the others, spent the night in the DeKalb County Jail on?Thursday?night before being bonded out the next day.?They faced charges that ranged from disorderly conduct to criminal trespassing after refusing to leave the campus despite warnings from law enforcement that they would be?arrested.

CNN has reached out to the university for comment about the possible dropping of charges. An official declined to comment and told CNN said someone would be in touch at a later time.?

In his letter, Fenves affirmed his commitment to safety and expression on campus while working to rebuilding trust.

“I am committed to supporting our students and faculty who wish to express their views peacefully. We will not tolerate conduct that undermines these efforts. I know that many members of our community are focused on their classes, research, exams and upcoming graduation,” he said.?

“I am focused on protecting our campuses, supporting peaceful expression for all members of our community, and finding ways to foster healing and rebuild trust.”?

The school’s faculty is currently amid a no confidence vote on Fenves following the handling of Thursday’s protests, and results are expected later this week.?

Pro-Palestinian student protesters and activists rally at an encampment on the campus of Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, on April 29.

Brown University said it will hear a group of students and faculty members’ “arguments for divestment” in May if the campus’ encampment is ended “within the next few days,” according to a letter sent to encamped students on Monday from the university’s president, Christina Paxson.?

Paxson said she is “writing to offer a path forward to resolve the unauthorized activity that continues to disrupt the University community and its operations since the April 24 establishment of an encampment on the College Green.”

If the encampment “is peacefully brought to an end within the next few days and is not replaced with any other encampments or unauthorized protest activity,” the “Corporation of Brown University will invite five students representing the current encampment activity and a small group of faculty members to speak with a similarly sized group of Corporation members about their arguments for divestment,” the letter reads.

“This meeting would occur during the upcoming Corporation meetings in May, though it would not place divestment as an action item for the Corporation’s business meeting,” it says.?

Brown’s vice president for campus life sent another letter shortly after Paxson’s saying the university?“invited student leaders of the encampment to a Monday afternoon meeting with two senior leaders from the University to further discuss the proposed path forward,” according to Brian Clark, a university spokesperson.

The follow-up letter detailed “specific conditions of the offer, including that the encampment must be cleared of all individuals, and that all students involved will be expected to leave the College Green, remove all belongings and trash soon — in a mutually agreed upon time period — and cannot return to any encampment or participate in any activities related to any encampment or that violate University Policy this academic year,” Clark explained.?

“We’re still processing it. We are definitely taking it seriously. It is the first time since the ACCRIP report recommending divestment from Israeli occupation in 2019 that the president has offered to allow the Corporation to hear the recommendation,” the Brown Divest Coalition told CNN.

President declines to drop charges against students arrested last year

Paxson wrote in her letter that she declined a recommendation from the Brown University Community Council (BUCC) to drop “any and all charges against students arrested during the 12/11/23 sit-in calling on the corporation to consider a divestment proposal.”

“Just as the University did not drop charges against more than 250 students who trespassed in University Hall in 1992, I believe it would be a mistake to do so now,” the president’s letter reads.??

In this still from video, a protester is detained and led away during demonstrations at the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia, on Monday, April 29.

University of Georgia police arrested several protesters on the Athens campus Monday morning following the establishment of a pro-Palestine encampment, according to a statement from the university.

The encampment was set up around 7 am ET Monday morning, according to a release from Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) at the University of Georgia.?

The encampment was in violation of campus policies, University spokesperson Greg Trevor told CNN in an email.?

“Early this morning, without making a required reservation under our Freedom of Expression Policy, approximately 25 protesters began erecting tents and a barricade, blocking sidewalks and building entrances, and using amplified sound,” Trevor said.?

Protesters were given multiple warnings, and university police began making arrests at 8:30 am.

“Any students, faculty or staff members arrested could also face further disciplinary action by the University,” Trevor said.?

UGA has not responded to inquiries on the total number of arrests. However, they stated they had little choice but to make the arrests.?

A spokesperson for Athens-Clark County police said that department assisted in transport to the jail but declined to comment on numbers of arrests. The Clarke County Sheriff’s office declined to comment, referring questions to UGA.?

CNN’s Isabel Rosales and Dianne Gallagher contributed to this report.??

An anonymous Jewish student alleged in a lawsuit filed Monday that Columbia University is failing to provide a safe learning environment for students during the ongoing pro-Palestinian demonstrations.

The lawsuit, which is seeking class action status, argues Columbia has “become a place that is too dangerous for Columbia’s Jewish students to receive the education they were promised.”

The complaint, filed against Columbia’s board of trustees in the Southern District of New York, includes numerous redacted sections to protect the identity of the plaintiff, who is described as a “Jewish student in her second year” and whose education has been disrupted by the hostile environment on campus.

The lawsuit takes particular issue with the decision by Columbia to go to a hybrid learning model?last week?amid the unrest on campus.

“Jewish students…get a second-class education where they are relegated to their homes to attend classes virtually and stripped of the opportunity to interact meaningfully with other students and faculty and sit for examinations with their peers,” the lawsuit said. “The segregation of Jewish students is a dangerous development that can quickly escalate into more severe acts of violence and discrimination.”

According to the lawsuit, the plaintiff is seeking to “hold Columbia accountable for failing to provide a safe educational environment for its students.”

Through a separate motion, the plaintiff is also seeking an emergency injunction aimed at requiring Columbia to enforce its Statement of Ethical Conduct and Administrative Code of Conduct to provide secure access to education.?

Columbia declined to?comment on the lawsuit.?

Columbia president Minouche Shafik acknowledged in a?statement?on Monday that many Jewish students and other students have “found the atmosphere intolerable in recent weeks.”

“Many have left campus, and that is a tragedy. To those students and their families, I want to say to you clearly: You are a valued part of the Columbia community,” Shafik said. “This is your campus too. We are committed to making Columbia safe for everyone, and to ensuring that you feel welcome and valued.”

The lawsuit alleges that a subset of protesters has committed acts of violence, harassed Jewish students and faculty and incited hate speech and acts of violence.?

“These extreme demonstrators are not engaging in constitutionally protected free speech. Instead, they are openly inciting violence against Jewish students,” the lawsuit said.?

In the lawsuit, the plaintiff argues the shift to hybrid at Columbia hurt her academic performance and “left her feeling excluded and marginalized from her educational university and her university more generally.”

“Had Plaintiff known that Columbia would not provide a safe educational environment, she would not have chosen to enroll at or pay tuition to Columbia,” the lawsuit said.?

A man takes a photo of an encampment at Columbia University on April 28 in New York.

Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), a pro-Palestinian student group that was suspended from Columbia University, called on students to show up at Columbia’s encampment at 12 pm ET Monday ahead of the 2 pm deadline the university has set, telling students they will be suspended if they don’t vacate.

“Show up at NOON to protect the encampment!” an X post from Columbia SJP reads.

Columbia University notified protesters in a document Monday that if they identify themselves to a university official and sign a form committing to abide by university policies through June 2025 or “the date of the conferral of your degree,” they will not be placed on suspension if they adhere to that commitment.

“If you do not leave by 2 p.m., you will be suspended pending further investigation,” the document says.?

Columbia SJP told students “Do not sign anything with administration” in its X post.?

Columbia University notified protesters?Monday that students will be suspended pending further investigation if they don’t vacate the encampment by 2 pm ET.

“As you are probably aware, the dialogue between the University and student leaders of the encampment is, regrettably, at an impasse,” the university said in a document.?

The document asks students in the encampment to “gather your belongings and leave the encampment.”

If students “voluntarily leave by 2 p.m.” and identify themselves to a university official and sign a form committing to abide by university policies through June 2025 or “the date of the conferral of your degree,” “you will be eligible to complete the semester in good standing (and will not be placed on suspension) as long as you adhere to that commitment,” the document says.

“It is important for you to know that the University has already identified many students in the encampment. If you do not identify yourself upon leaving and sign the form now, you will not be eligible to sign and complete the semester in good standing,” it reads.?

“If you do not leave by 2 p.m., you will be suspended pending further investigation,” the document says.?

Columbia said it will offer an “alternative venue for demonstrations after the exam period and commencement have concluded,” saying the current “unauthorized encampment’ is “creating an unwelcoming environment for members of our community.”

“External actors have also contributed to this environment, especially around our gates, causing safety concerns – including for our neighbors,” it says.?

CNN is inquiring with the University on ramifications for the encampment beyond 2 pm.

People occupy College Green at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia on April 27.

University of Pennsylvania administration and protesters are at odds after negotiations following days of pro-Palestinian demonstrations on campus.

The university has called for demonstrators to leave an on-campus encampment, citing violations of school policies.

“After many efforts to engage the protesters, the Interim President and Provost met with several student and faculty protesters?Saturday night?to hear their concerns. They reiterated to the protesters the importance of complying with Penn’s policies, which are designed to support open expression, while ensuring the safety of all on our campus,” UPenn said in a statement.

In an?Instagram post?to an account representing the protest organizers, the protesters said university leaders found their demands “unreasonable.”

“For Penn, good business sense is supporting genocide,” the post said. “While administrations want to remind us that the end of the school year brings much to celebrate, students in Gaza don’t have access to food, water, shelter, and education. All universities in Gaza have been destroyed. We will continue to bear witness,” the post read.

The protesters’ message concluded, “Until these demands are met, we will continue to occupy this space.”

Members of the encampment told CNN participants are from other nearby Philadelphia universities in addition to the University of Pennsylvania, like Temple University and Drexel University.

By Monday morning the university had put “Notice of Trespass” signs up surrounding the encampment, stating the protesters were “not authorized” to “erect a tent or other structure, or to otherwise encamp or stay at this location.”

People protest at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles on April 27.

A pair of speakers set to address masters and doctoral graduates of the University of Southern California’s Rossier School of Education have withdrawn, citing the school’s dealings with war protesters and cancellation of valedictorian?Asna Tabassum’s commencement speech.

“Asna’s removal, the administration’s refusal to engage in dialogue with student protesters, and the decision to invite LAPD forces onto campus, represent a violent and targeted refusal to allow true diversity of expression to flourish on campus,” the pair explained.

Zhang and Noble note the rich history of protests on college campuses, particularly during times of war and call for other speakers to join them in withdrawing in an effort to increase the pressure on administration.

The move comes just days after USC announced?the cancellation?of the school’s main stage graduation citing enhanced security procedures that would make it impossible to screen the expected 65,000 attendees in a timely manner.

A woman walks past Israeli and US flags alongside portraits of Israelis taken hostage by the militant Palestinian group Hamas in front of the pro-Palestinian encampment at Columbia University in New York on Sunday.

In a sign of escalating political pressure on Columbia University, 21 House Democrats wrote a letter to Columbia University’s board of trustees on Monday demanding they disband the pro-Palestinian encampment on campus or step down.

“It is past time for the University to act decisively, disband the encampment, and ensure the safety and security of all of its students,” the lawmakers wrote.

The letter, led by Reps. Josh Gottheimer and Dan Goldman, argues that the protesters are “unwilling to enter into a reasonable agreement to disband” — something that the lawmakers say must happen to bring Columbia into compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act.

“The time for negotiation is over; the time for action is now,” the House Democrats wrote. “It is ultimately the responsibility of the Board of Trustees to act. If any Trustees are unwilling to do this, they should resign so that they can be replaced by individuals who will uphold the University’s legal obligations under Title VI.”

The letter, first reported by?Axios, was signed by Rep. Steny Hoyer, the former House majority leader, as Reps. Adam Schiff, Dean Phillips, Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Ritchie Torres.?

The effort piles even more political pressure on Columbia officials after some high-profile Republicans previously called for Columbia President Minouche Shafik to step down.?

Columbia officials declined to comment to CNN directly on the letter.

However, Shafik issued a?statement?Monday vowing to hold a commencement ceremony despite the unrest on campus. Shafik said negotiations with student protesters failed to come to terms over how to dismantle the encampment and adhere to Columbia policies.

“Regretfully, we were not able to come to an agreement,” Shafik wrote.?

Addressing Jewish students and others who have “found the atmosphere intolerable in recent weeks,” Shafik stressed that the university is “committed to making Columbia safe for everyone.”

Demonstrators are seen at the pro-Palestinian encampment at the Columbia University in New York on Sunday.

Columbia said in a statement Monday that while constructive dialogue between student organizers and academic leaders has been ongoing since last week, “Regretfully, we were not able to come to an agreement.”

“Both sides in these discussions put forward robust and thoughtful offers and worked in good faith to reach common ground,” the statement from University President Minouche Shafik said. “We thank them all for their diligent work, long hours, and careful effort and wish they had reached a different outcome.”

At present the University is urging those in the encampment to “voluntarily disperse” adding that they are “consulting with a broader group in our community to explore alternative internal options to end this crisis as soon as possible.”

University firmly states it will not divest from Israel

Notably the University said it would not divest from Israel which has been a main complaint of protesters — but that as part of the conversations they “offered to develop an expedited timeline for review of new proposals from the students by the Advisory Committee for Socially Responsible Investing, the body that considers divestment matters.” “The University also offered to publish a process for students to access a list of Columbia’s direct investment holdings, and to increase the frequency of updates to that list of holdings.”

Columbia says it will “indeed hold a commencement”

Also notably, the University said they “want to reassure our community who are trying to make plans that we will indeed hold a commencement.”

“Please recall that many in this graduating class did not get a celebration when graduating from high school because of the pandemic, and many of them are the first in their families to earn a University degree,” the statement said.

With classes concluding, the encampment is a “noisy distraction” for students studying for finals.

Many Jewish students have left campus and “that is a tragedy”

The University president citing an “intolerable” atmosphere a number of Jewish students have found on campus in recent weeks, noted many of those students have left campus, adding “that is a tragedy.”

The encampment has not only “created an unwelcoming environment for many of our Jewish students and faculty” but the university added that external actors have created a “hostile environment” in violation of Title VI “especially around our gates, that is unsafe for everyone — including our neighbors.”

Important ideas emerged from talks

The University said its goal for the talks was “collaborative resolution” that would result in the “orderly removal” of the encampment — adding that in part they offered to “convene a faculty committee to address academic freedom and to begin a discussion on access and financial barriers to academic programs and global centers.”

They added “The University also offered to make investments in health and education in Gaza, including supporting early childhood development and support for displaced scholars.”

“There are important ideas that emerged from this dialogue, and we plan to explore pursuing them in the future,” the statement said

CNN has reached out to student organizers on campus for reaction to the statement.

Yale University students who have set up tents on Cross Campus at the university and are calling for Yale to divest from military weapons manufacturers risk discipline, including possible suspension and potential arrest, in a statement from Yale late Sunday.

“Yale fully supports peaceful protests and freedom of speech, but it does not tolerate the breaking of its policies, which are designed to keep the university functioning and protect the safety and welfare of the entire Yale community,” according to the statement to CNN. “Administrators have communicated these policies and the possible disciplinary actions directly to the protest marshals in person and in writing.”

Student protesters have erected their tents on the lawn in front of Sterling Memorial Library, near residential colleges where students are studying for final exams, chanting and blocking walkways, the statement described.

“Since the protests began, the university and the Yale Police Department have worked to reduce the likelihood of confrontations and arrests,” according to the spokesperson.

This comes just days after the university cleared an encampment and dismissed a protest that broke out on Beinecke Plaza, at the center of Yale’s campus, the spokesperson said.

CNN has reached out Monday for an update.?

Members of law enforcement and police officers intervene during a pro-Palestinian student protest at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, California, on April 24.

On the cusp of the academic year’s end, university communities across the nation remain on edge, not only over flares of political action but also over what response, if any, it might compel.

While the latest run of arrests has commanded outsized attention, US colleges have been trying?to control student protests since October, when Hamas attacked Israel,?killing more than 1,200 and taking over 200 hostages. Israel’s devastating counterpunch in Gaza – with more than 34,000 Palestinians killed, according to its Health Ministry – has further fueled deeply held views of students and faculty on all sides.

Despite US students’ broad insistence that their tactics are peaceful, administrators often have decried campus protests as disruptive. Some have employed rules governing the use of public spaces to threaten or enact discipline or call for police backup.

Implicit in the crackdowns is a built-in tension of higher education: leaders must balance the role of campuses as bastions of free speech while ensuring the safety of students, including those who are Jewish and have expressed?concern for their well-being?in the face of antisemitism that’s surged nationally since October.

Administrators lately have seemed quicker to levy consequences against campus demonstrators than they were six months ago, according to Zach Greenberg of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression.

But, he said, calling in the police carries risk. It is a “drastic action” that “should be reserved for only the most direct and severe threats to campus safety,” Greenberg said.

Read the full story here.

Students at Virginia Tech take part in pro-Palestinian protests on April 28.

Virginia Tech said Monday morning things had “stabilized” at the university’s campus after police activity overnight.?

But police remain on campus, it said.?

The?Washington Post earlier reported that arrests had been made on campus as police worked to remove protesters from an encampment, citing an unnamed university spokesperson.

At about 10:15 p.m. Sunday, Virginia Tech police advised demonstrators to leave within five minutes or face arrest.?

CNN has asked the university for details about the number of students who were taken into custody and their charges.?

Demonstrators began to occupy the lawn at the university’s Graduate Life Center on Friday, according to the university.?By Sunday, the situation on campus had “progressed” and had the potential to “become unsafe,” it said.?

Arrests were made on Virginia Tech’s campus as police worked to remove protesters from an encampment, according to The?Washington Post.

The newspaper cited an unnamed spokesperson with the university.

At about 10:15 p.m. Sunday, Virginia Tech police advised demonstrators to leave within five minutes or face arrest.?

Around the same time, the university warned students to avoid the protest site.

CNN has asked the university for details about the number of students who were taken into custody and their charges.?

Demonstrators began to occupy the lawn at the university’s Graduate Life Center on Friday, according to the university.?By Sunday, the situation on campus had “progressed” and had the potential to “become unsafe,” it said.?

A student secures a Palestinian flag near a protest encampment on the main campus of?Columbia?University in New York City on April 27.

A core demand over the past week by the?pro-Palestinian?student groups?at Columbia University has been for the school to withdraw investment funds from what they describe as companies profiting from Israel’s war in Gaza.

Columbia’s endowment is worth $13.6 billion and is managed by a university-owned investment firm.

The request from a coalition of student groups behind the movement includes divesting endowment funds?from several weapons manufacturers and tech companies that do business with Israel’s government.

The group has described those companies as profiting “from Israeli apartheid, genocide, and military occupation of Palestine.” Israel?denies accusations of genocide.

This is not the first time such demands have been made.?

In 2000, the university established an advisory committee on socially responsible investing, made up of students, faculty and alumni, to provide feedback to the managers of its endowment investments.

Columbia now?lists five areas?where it refrains from investing: tobacco, private prison operations, thermal coal, Sudan and fossil fuels — all decisions made in the past decade.

Columbia was also the first Ivy League university to divest from South Africa, and various?other colleges followed suit.

In 2015, Columbia became the?first US university?to divest from private prison companies after a student campaign raising concerns about human rights abuses.

A fossil fuel divestment proposal was?approved?by Columbia’s Board of Trustees in early 2021. The policy includes a commitment not to invest in “companies whose primary business is the exploration and production of fossil fuels.” Columbia’s announcement was followed by?similar commitments at other Ivy League universities.

Read the full story.

Pro-Palestinian protesters are disrupting major US colleges and universities, bringing mounting pressure on school administrators to address the demonstrations as their campuses prepare for graduation celebrations.

Though protesters broadly insist their tactics are peaceful, administrators often have decried their demonstrations as disruptive, and some?are employing school rules governing the use of public spaces to enact discipline or call for police backup.

A central demand of many protests is that universities divest their funds from Israel-linked companies that say are profiting from the war in Gaza.

Here’s what happened over the weekend:

Campuses gripped by arrests and unrest

Lawmakers and administrators weigh in

Pro-Palestinian protesters stand off with police on the campus of California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt, in Arcata, California, on April 22.

California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt, is asking students participating in demonstrations and the occupation of at least two buildings to “leave campus peacefully.”

The request comes a day after the university announced it had closed its campus and moved to remote classes and exams until the end of the semester due to the protests.

Administrators have accused protesters of trying to break into locked buildings “with the intention of either locking themselves in, vandalizing, or stealing equipment.”?

If demonstrators leave campus voluntarily, the university said it may consider the choice as a “possible mitigating factor” during conduct proceedings and when deciding what discipline students will face.

Virginia Tech police have warned pro-Palestinian protesters on campus they will face arrest if they refuse to disperse.

At about 10:15 p.m. on Sunday, university police advised demonstrators to leave within five minutes or be subject to arrest.?

Around the same time, the university warned students to avoid the protest site.

Earlier on Sunday, officers had worked to remove demonstrators from an on-campus encampment.

Demonstrators began to occupy the lawn at the university’s Graduate Life Center on Friday, the university said.?

By Sunday, the university said the situation on campus had “progressed” and had the potential to “become unsafe.”?

As Pro-Palestinian protests continue to sweep major US universities, a unifying message has emerged.

At multiple schools, the same chant can be heard: “Disclose! Divest! We will not stop, we will not rest!”

What it means:?Divestment involves an investor or institution selling off shares of a company to avoid complicity in activities they deem unethical or harmful.

That action is intended not only to reallocate funds to more ethical investments but also to make a public statement that can pressure a company or government to change policies.

Critics argue that while divestment can be an effective expression of disapproval and a call for change, its actual impact on corporate behavior and market trends is more tenuous.

Stock prices remain steady:?Research finds that there’s very little correlation between divestment campaigns and stock value or company behavior, Witold Henisz at the University of Pennsylvania told CNN.

When you sell shares, said Henisz, you give someone who cares less about the issue voice and you give up your own voice.

Proponents of divestment counter that its value lies in raising awareness and stigmatizing partnerships with targeted regimes or industries.

Detangling interests:?University investments are much more complicated now than they were in the 1980s. Many endowments are managed by asset managers and invested in opaque private equity funds.

Read the full story.

People set up more tents along H street as they protest at George Washington University in Washington, DC, on April 28.

The number of demonstrators on George Washington University’s campus had reduced to about 20 people by Sunday night, but another group erected an encampment of about 20 tents on a nearby public street over the weekend, the school said.

As an encampment grew on campus over the past few days, the university’s administration decided students who remained there after being asked to leave would be temporarily suspended and “administratively barred” from school grounds.

The university said there had been no incidents of violence during on-campus demonstrations, though it added, “the actions of some protesters have been highly offensive to many members of our community.”

No further details on the alleged actions were provided.

People sit to listen as activists and students protest near an encampment at University Yard, George Washington University on April 28, in Washington, DC.?

Earlier on Sunday, a crowd of demonstrators chanted “Free Palestine” to the beat of a drum on H Street NW, some of them wearing keffiyeh and waving Palestinian flags. The street was blocked by law enforcement, and a number of DC Metropolitan Police officers were in the area.

Flags, signs and sidewalk chalk decorated the encampment, where protesters said they would stay until the university fulfills their demands, which include disclosing its financial endowments and divesting from Israeli associations — similar to the message of many other college protests nationwide.?

One counter-protester walked through the crowd with an Israeli flag draped around her shoulders. Demonstrators chanted, “Free, free, free Palestine,” at the protester, while one held a sign that read, “Genocide is bad.”?

Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks during a campaign event in Oakland, California, on March 26.

Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr Kennedy told reporters following a campaign rally in Holbrook, New York on Sunday that he supported the rights of pro-Palestinian protesters on college campuses but disagreed with their calls for a ceasefire in Gaza.

But, he said he doesn’t “understand… what the rationale is” behind calls for a ceasefire in Gaza, though he labeled himself as “very pro-Palestinian.”?

Israeli attacks in Gaza have killed more than 34,000 Palestinians since the start of the war,?according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. CNN cannot independently confirm the numbers due to the lack of international media access to Gaza.

Kennedy also called antisemitic threats against Jewish students on campuses “unacceptable” and urged universities to protect Jewish students.?

Pro-Israel counter-protesters gather during a demonstration in support of Palestinians at UCLA in Los Angeles on April 28.

Demonstrators?breached a security barrier meant to keep opposing protest groups apart on UCLA’s campus on Sunday and the two sides came?face-to-face, at times screaming at one another and shoving back and forth.

A CNN team was on the ground watching the crowd, where pro-Palestinian demonstrators had gathered to support an encampment protesting Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, and a group of counter-protesters draped in Israeli flags had erected a video screen and speaker set up.

“People who are screaming at each other, sometimes shoving and pushing, and it does get violent at times.”

Organizers from each group told Bernal that they were trying to keep the peace.

The CNN team had seen police officers in riot gear standing at a distance?from?the crowd, but university officials said police would not intervene unless they felt students were in harm’s way.

The school’s vice chancellor for strategic communications, Mary Osako, confirmed that demonstrators had “breached” a barrier between the groups and that there were “physical altercations” between protesters.

Sen. Bernie Sanders speaks in Triangle, Virginia, on April 22.

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders pushed back on?Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s claim?that protests on US college campuses are driven by antisemitism, telling CNN’s Dana Bash that it’s critical to hold the Israeli government accountable for its actions in Gaza.

In the interview on Sunday morning, Sanders said the “vast majority of the American people are disgusted with Netanyahu’s war machine in Gaza” and do not want more aid sent to Israel.

Sanders said Israel’s widespread destruction of homes and infrastructure in Gaza and the death toll of more than 34,000 people, according to the enclave’s Health Ministry, is the reason people want the Israeli government held accountable.

Sanders said he condemns Hamas, antisemitism, Islamophobia, and other forms of bigotry but emphasized:

Palestinian students hold signs in Rafah, Gaza, on April 28.

Dozens of Palestinian students displayed solidarity at a demonstration in southern Gaza on Sunday to express gratitude for the support seen on US college campuses in recent weeks.??

Video from the Shaboura refugee camp in Rafah shows children holding banners with messages that read: “Students of Columbia University, continue to stand by us” and “Violating our right to education and life is a war crime.”???

The students gathered around makeshift tents near a school that now serves as a shelter for Palestinians displaced from northern Gaza. Footage shows people spray-painting messages of gratitude on the fabric of the tents, saying:

A man writes a message of thanks to students protesting in the US on a tent at a camp for displaced Palestinians in Rafah, Gaza, on April 27.

Takfeer Abu-Yousuf, a displaced student from the northern city of Beit Hanoun, told CNN he felt it was necessary to thank the students in the US who “supported us with their humanity.”

Eighteen-year-old Rana Al-Taher pointed to the school in the camp and told CNN that what should have been a place for learning and education has become a place for sheltering.???

Read the full story here.

Jill Stein, 2024 Green Party presidential candidate, center, speaks with demonstrators during the March on Washington for Gaza rally in Washington, DC, on January 13, 2024.

Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein was arrested Saturday at a pro-Palestinian protest at Washington University in St. Louis.

Her campaign spokesperson said they were not aware of any charges.

More than 80 other people were also arrested, the university?said in a statement.

A group of demonstrators, including students, employees and individuals not associated with the university, marched at multiple locations on campus where they “pitched tents, and indicated that they did not intend to leave,” the university said.

Stein was at the protest to support student protesters who declared they would not leave until the university divested from Boeing — which has ties to Israel — and boycotted Israeli academic institutions, among other demands.

In a video recorded before her arrest, the Green Party candidate said she supported the students’ free speech rights.

David Schwab, Stein’s communications director, said she had attempted to de-escalate the situation between protesters and police on Saturday, but that the police “were not responsive” and began arrests shortly afterward.

Stein’s campaign manager and deputy campaign manager were also arrested.?

Protesting has become the “new sex” for American youth, New York University Stern School of Business professor and author Scott Galloway told CNN.

“And also for the species to survive, you get a dopa(mine) hit from gathering together and fighting off a perceived enemy. And I think they’re erring on the latter, if you will. I think they’re on the hunt for what I call a fake mortal enemy.”