A contingent of new york police entered the facilities of the Columbia University late this Tuesday night, in response to the presence of numerous pro-Palestinian protesters who were in the place.
The riot police used a ladder truck to access the second floor of the building, while the student newspaper Columbia Spectator reported arrests at the scene.
The protesters who barricaded themselves in that Columbia University building had vowed to fight attempts to evict them, as institutions struggled to contain pro-Palestinian protests on dozens of campuses across the United States.
This deployment occurs after the educational authorities stated this Tuesday that they were “exploring options” after the students occupied one of the buildings of that educational center last midnight.
The Columbia University sent an alert warning to avoid the area: “Shelter in a safe place due to intense activity on campus. Failure to comply may result in disciplinary action. Please avoid the area until further notice.”
The study center had already limited access to the campus to necessary staff and students who live there on Tuesday due to the seizure of the Hamilton building, which is highly symbolic because it was also occupied in 1968 in protest of the Vietnam War.
The occupation of the prestigious university’s Hamilton Hall occurred hours after the center’s authorities said they had begun suspending students for not complying with an eviction order from the camp they had set up in the gardens.
Young people with their faces covered broke windows and blocked the building’s entrances with tables, according to images shared on social networks.
The protesters said they will remain in the building until their demands are met, including that Columbia University reject all funding linked to Israel.
In parallel with the deployment around the Columbia campus, the Police also began an eviction device on Tuesday night with multiple arrests of the students camped in the City University of New York (CUNY).
More of 1,000 protesters have been arrested in the last two weeks on college campuses in states like Texas, Utah, Virginia, North Carolina, New Mexico, Connecticut, Louisiana, California and New Jerseysome after violent confrontations with police.
“Get away from this situation and continue your defense by other means“asked the mayor of New York, Eric Adamsto the Columbia protesters.
“This must end now,” he added.
The White House He also expressed his condemnation of the recent clashes that occurred in Columbia and in the California Polytechnic State University, Humboldt.
In the latter, the situation escalated when protesters occupied two buildings, leading to a nighttime police intervention. During the operation, 25 individuals were arrested.
Authorities conducted a preliminary damage assessment, estimating that economic losses at the Northern California university campus exceeded $1 million.
The seizure of the building was rejected by the president Joe Bidenwhich had asked to guarantee the freedom of expression of students and avoid anti-Semitic acts.
“The president believes that taking a campus building by force is absolutely the wrong approach“said the spokesman for the National Security Council, John Kirby. “It is not an example of peaceful protest,” she added.
(With information from EFE, AFP and The Associated Press)
