NEW YORK (1010 WINS/AP) – Columbia University said early Wednesday that it was making “important progress” with pro-Palestinian student protesters who set up a tent encampment and that it was extending a deadline to clear out, yet standoffs remained tense at the Ivy League school in Upper Manhattan, where the U.S. House speaker was set to visit Wednesday afternoon to address antisemitism on college campuses.
HERE'S THE LATEST FOR APRIL 24:
7 P.M. -- Final exams and assessments at Columbia must include a remote option
Columbia University Provost Angela Olinto provided resources and guidelines for final exams and assessments for the semester, asserting that “In order to address the concerns of our members in an evolving campus environment, all final course assessments … on the Morningside campus … must include a remote option for students who have requested support for virtual assessment.”
The university’s Center for Teaching and Learning is offering support to instructors about possible ways to adjust course assessments, and Olinto provided several suggestions, such as “substituting a take-home exam for an in-class exam.”
Instructors for arts and practice-based courses are encouraged to provide other accommodations to students who requested support for virtual assessment.
The school’s Medical Center and Manhattanville campuses will follow normal final assessment arrangements as scheduled, excluding accommodations based on religious reasons or approved disability accommodations.
6: 30 P.M. - In statement, board of trustees ‘strongly supports’ Columbia president
Following House speaker Mike Johnson’s remarks at Columbia University on Wednesday afternoon calling for the resignation of Dr.
Nemat (Minouche) Shafik, the Ivy League’s board of trustees released a statement asserting it “strongly supports” the university’s president “as she steers the university through this extraordinarily challenging time.”
“During the search process for this role, President Shafik told us that she would always take a thoughtful approach to resolving conflict, balancing the disparate voices that make up a vibrant campus like Columbia’s, while taking a firm stance against hatred, harassment and discrimination,” the statement said. “That's exactly what she's doing now.”
“We are urgently working with her to help resolve the situation on campus and rebuild the bonds of our community; we encourage everyone who cares about Columbia to join us in that effort,” the board concluded.
6 P.M. -- Columbia’s president met with House speakers before remarks, University asserts it will not call in National Guard
Ben Chang, vice president of communications for Columbia University, addressed reports that the school was considering bringing in the National Guard to help handle protests, calling the claims “untrue and unsubstantiated.”
“Our goal is to restore order—if we can get there through dialogue, we will,” Chang said.
Chang also confirmed that before House speaker Mike Johnson’s press conference on the steps of Low Library, he and other congressional leaders sat down with President Dr. Nemat (Minouche) Shafik.
A campus update stated that Shafik “shares the representatives’ focus on and commitment to the safety and security of the campus community and she appreciates help from all those who offer it.”
“As we are seeing on campuses from California to Texas, from Minnesota to Massachusetts, fellow universities are confronting immense, and similar challenges,” Chang said.
4 P.M. – House speaker calls Columbia president to resign if unable to control situation, tells encamped students to 'go back to class and stop the nonsense'
House speaker Mike Johnson was met with boos from pro-Palestinian student protestors as he took the podium during a press conference at Columbia University on Wednesday afternoon.
Joining Johnson were Representatives Anthony D'Esposito (R-N.Y.), Nicole Malliotakis (R-N.Y.), Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.), and Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.), chairwoman of the House Education and Workforce Committee who had met with Jewish students earlier in the day.
Johnson’s speech emphasized the safety of Jewish students on campus, criticizing the university administration for allowing hate speech and harassment against them. He said, "Neither Israel nor Jewish students on this campus will stand alone," asserting that no American should have to endure such threats.
He said that Jewish students at Columbia had shared with him experiences of “heinous acts of bigotry” because of their faith.
He further criticized Columbia's president, Dr. Nemat (Minouche) Shafik suggesting, "She should resign if she cannot immediately put an end to this," and added, "They have shown themselves incapable of fulfilling their basic duty to keep students safe. We can't allow this to continue."
Amid his speech, disruptions continued with protesters chanting, "We can't hear you," and “Free, free Palestine”. In a firm response, Johnson stated, "Enjoy your free speech," and labeled the student protesters as "agitators."
All speakers called on Shafik to resign if she is unable to put an end to the situation.
“We respect free speech and we respect different ideas but this is not the way to do this,” Johnson said. “Go back to class and stop the nonsense,” he told students participating in the encampment.
3 P.M. – President Biden not planning to visit Columbia
President Joe Biden will visit New York City on Friday, but according to reports, White House officials have not had internal discussions about him visiting Columbia University.
Biden has faced pro-Palestinian protestors in during his New York City visits. During his appearance on "Late Night with Seth Meyers," Biden faced protestors from Jewish Voice for Peace NYC who posted pictures on social media showing some protestors wearing shirts with "cease fire now" and holding a banner that read "Jews to Biden: Stop Arming Genocide." About 50 Jewish protestors were arrested while urging Biden to stop supporting Israeli military operations in Gaza, which they described as "genocide" against Palestinians.
White House and campaign officials told CNN that Biden is not planning to visit Columbia University.
The White House is closely monitoring the protests on college campuses and taking the discussions with community leaders seriously, White House spokesman Andrew Bates stated on Tuesday.
2 P.M. – Columbia protesters say administrators made a 'written commitment' not to involve the NYPD or National Guard
Columbia University student protesters stated that the university administration made "a written commitment" and concession not to call the NYPD or the National Guard on Tuesday night, according to a release posted on X.
"The University's previous threats of an imminent sweep by the NYPD or the National Guard had severed negotiations. The administration's threats backfired when student negotiators refused to stay at the table," the statement posted by the Columbia University Apartheid Divest, the group leading the encampment on campus.
"Columbia's reliance on the threat of state violence against peaceful protestors has created an unstable ground for the negotiations process which will continue over the next 48 hours. However, Columbia's written commitment and concession not to call the NYPD or the National Guard signifies an important victory for students," the statement read.
On Wednesday about 60 tents remained at the encampment, which appeared calm, with students going in and out — one girl holding a toothbrush. A woman spoke on a loudspeaker about the reasons for the protest. Security remained tight around campus, with identification required and police setting up metal barricades.
1 P.M. – Hochul: House speaker’s visit ‘adding to division’
At a state budget-related news conference Wednesday, Gov. Kathy Hochul said U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson is “adding to division” by visiting Columbia University and calling for its embattled president, Minouche Shafik, to resign.
Johnson said Shafik should resign Wednesday morning ahead of his visit with Jewish students at the school in the afternoon. He’s expected to double down on his call for Shafik’s resignation during a press conference.
Asked about Johnson, Hochul told reporters: “I think politicizing this and bringing the entourage to put a spotlight on this is only adding to the division, and a speaker worth the title should really be trying to heal people and not divide them, so I don’t think it adds to anything.”
Hochul said Johnson should be back in Washington, D.C., focusing on the migrant crisis.
The governor noted that when she visited the school Monday, she went privately to meet with community members, who she said are working to defuse the situation.
Asked if she was satisfied with Shafik’s leadership, Hochul said: “I want to make sure that we get the results we need, which is to make sure that every student on campus—every student—feels safe and secure, and I believe that is the path they’re attempting to be on.”
Johnson will be joined by Republican House members that include Reps. Anthony D'Esposito, Nicole Malliotakis, Mike Lawler and Virginia Foxx.
10:20 A.M. – House speaker calls on Columbia president to resign
Ahead of his visit to Columbia University on Wednesday, U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican from Louisiana, called on the school’s embattled president, Minouche Shafik, to resign.
In a radio interview with Hugh Hewitt on Wednesday morning, Johnson said Shafik is a “very weak, inept leader” and called the situation on college campuses “madness.”
“They cannot even guarantee the safety of Jewish students?” Johnson said. “They are expected to run for their lives and stay home from class?”
The speaker said federal funding should be revoked from universities if they “cannot keep control.”
On Wednesday afternoon, Johnson is schedule to visit with Jewish students at Columbia and address antisemitism on college campuses. Jewish students have said for months that they've felt unsafe and vulnerable.
Johnson said he'll call for Shafik's resignation at an afternoon press conference.
Earlier this week, all 10 members of New York’s Republican congressional delegation called for Shafik to resign, saying “anarchy” had swept the Ivy League school and that they had “no confidence” in her leadership after her congressional testimony on antisemitism last week.
10 A.M. – AOC condemns ‘reckless’ arrests of student protesters
U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez commented Tuesday night on the ongoing protests and the NYPD’s arrests of protesters at the request of Columbia and New York universities.
“Calling in police enforcement on nonviolent demonstrations of young students on campus is an escalatory, reckless, and dangerous act,” the New York congresswoman wrote on X.
“It represents a heinous failure of leadership that puts people’s lives at risk. I condemn it in the strongest possible terms,” she continued.
9:15 A.M. – Columbia, protesters make 'important progress'
Student protesters “have committed to dismantling and removing a significant number of tents,” Columbia said in a statement early Wednesday, as a smaller encampment remained on campus.
Late Tuesday, Columbia President Minouche Shafik had set a midnight deadline to reach an agreement with students to clear the encampment, or “we will have to consider alternative options.”
By around 3 a.m., the university said that there was “constructive dialogue” and that it will continue conversations for 48 hours.
The statement said student protesters “will ensure that those not affiliated with Columbia will leave. Only Columbia University students will be participating in the protest.”
Student protesters also will comply with city fire department requirements and “have taken steps to make the encampment welcome to all and have prohibited discriminatory or harassing language,” the statement said.
The university’s statement was released hours before U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson’s trip to Columbia to visit with Jewish students and address antisemitism on college campuses.
NYPD officers in riot gear continued to hold their position in front of Columbia’s main gate as school security patrolled inside campus.
9 A.M. – Over 200 protesters arrested at Schumer’s Brooklyn home
Police arrested more than 200 protesters blocking traffic during a non-college demonstration demanding a permanent cease-fire in Gaza at Grand Army Plaza in Brooklyn, near the home of Sen. Chuck Schumer.
The protest was organized by Jewish Voice for Peace on the second night of Passover, and protesters lay down a large circular banner depicting the food on a Seder plate.
It came after 133 protesters were taken into custody Monday night at NYU. All of the NYU protesters were later released with summonses to appear in court on disorderly conduct charges.
8 A.M. -- Protesters say they were harassed near Columbia
Tensions were high outside Columbia around 4 a.m. Wednesday as several dozen pro-Palestinian students claimed they were being harassed by someone with a weapon. Video from 1010 WINS/WCBS 880 reporter Glenn Schuck shows part of the the incident.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.