COLUMBIA STARTS SUSPENDING STUDENTS IN ANTI-ISRAEL ENCAMPMENT

Student demonstrators at Columbia University, the epicenter of pro-Palestinian protests that have erupted at colleges across the U.S. are being suspended after , defying an ultimatum to leave the area.

Authorities at the prestigious university in New York demanded that the protest encampment be cleared by 2pm on Monday or that students would face disciplinary action.

A few hours later, Columbia vice president of communications Ben Chang said the university had 'begun suspending students as part of this next phase of our efforts to ensure safety on our campus.'

He said the students had been warned they would be 'placed on suspension, ineligible to complete the semester or graduate, and will be restricted from all academic, residential, and recreational spaces.'

But students involved in the encampment were not happuy.

'These repulsive scare tactics mean nothing compared to the deaths of over 34,000 Palestinians,' said a statement, read out by a student at a press conference after the deadline.

'We will not move until Columbia meets our demands or... are moved by force,' said the student, who would not give his name.

Protests against the Gaza war, with its high Palestinian civilian death toll, have posed a challenge to university administrators trying to balance free speech rights with complaints that the rallies have veered into anti-Semitism and hate.

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2024-04-29T23:51:53Z dg43tfdfdgfd