Columbia University began suspending students involved in an anti-Israel encampment on campus after giving them a 2 PM deadline to leave.
The vice president’s statement said suspended students would no longer be eligible to finish the semester or graduate.
“We have begun suspending students as part of this next phase of our efforts to ensure safety on our campus,” Vice President of Public Affairs Ben Chang stated.
Columbia has begun suspending students.
Ben Chang, Columbia University spokesperson, tells NewsNation:
"We have begun suspending students as part of this next phase of our efforts to ensure safety on our campus."
— Kellie Meyer (@KellieMeyerNews) April 29, 2024
Earlier, Columbia had distributed a letter to protesters with the deadline to gather belongings and vacate, noting the encampment created an unwelcoming environment as exams and graduations approached.
The letter was defaced with anti-Semitic messages. Similar encampments had emerged at other top universities in the past week and a half.
Antisemitic incidents in the US have increased sharply since Hamas’s deadly October attack on Israel that left over 1,000 dead and hundreds taken hostage, exacerbating tensions that contributed to the campus protests.
