'We don't want our university funding genocide' - Columbia students say negotiations hit impasse

Record ID: 1816016

  • Title: 'We don't want our university funding genocide' - Columbia students say negotiations hit impasse
  • Date: 26th April 2024
  • Summary: NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (APRIL 26, 2024) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF TENTS AND STUDENTS ON COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY CAMPUS SIGNS SAYING (English) "5,791+ KILLED IN 2 WEEKS," "FREE PALESTINE," "BARNARD COLLEGE" PAN FROM JOURNALISTS TO SPEAKER (SOUNDBITE STARTING OFF CAMERA) (English) JONATHAN BEN-MENACHEM, FOUR-YEAR PHD STUDENT, SOCIOLOGY DEPARTMENT AT COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY, OR
  • Embargoed: 10th May 2024 21:48
  • Keywords: Columbia University Gaza Israel campus genocide protest students
  • Location: NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES
  • City: NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES
  • Country: US
  • Topics: Conflicts/War/Peace,North America,Civil Unrest
  • Reuters ID: LVA001826926042024RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text:A pro-Palestinian student group at Columbia University said on Friday (April 26) that negotiations with the school hit an impasse.
    Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD) demanded the school divest from organizations that work with Israel, become more transparent with its investments, and issue amnesty for all students and faculty disciplined or fired for participating in protests on the campus.
    "The university is not acknowledging the movement and the extent of the movement," said Mahmoud Khalil, a second-year SIPA (School of International and Public Affairs) graduate student at Columbia University and one of the CUAD negotiators. "And what they're willing to offer is mostly just the statements, processes, and committees."
    Columbia University has tried to convince students to remove their encampment from its campus.
    The school's president, Nemat Minouche Shafik, summoned New York police on April 18 to dismantle the tents.
    Police arrested more than 100 people that day and removed the tents from the main lawn of the school's Manhattan campus, but the protesters quickly returned and set up tents again, narrowing Columbia's options on dismantling it.
    Since then, Shafik has faced an outcry from many students, faculty, and outside observers.
    Like-minded protests against Israel's actions have spread to schools across the United States and overseas.
    "It is in our best interests to reach an agreement before commencement," said Sueda Polat, one of the CUAD negotiators with Columbia University. "Successful negotiations are the only viable option to end this encampment."
    (Production: Allysyn Landrum, Dan Fastenberg, Aleksandra Michalska)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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