by Farrukh Abadi
April 23 marked the completion of the first week of the Columbia University Gaza Solidarity Encampment, which, following the mass arrest of over 100 students, was reestablished in the West Lawn with twice as many participants. Students have since established programming including lectures, art events, study groups, and various cultural activities.
56 years ago to the day, student activists at Columbia began occupying buildings in protest of the university’s involvement in the Vietnam War and segregation. The occupations quickly expanded and lasted for a week until the students were dragged out and beaten by the police, sparking several more weeks of militant student struggle against the university and police. Over 700 students had been arrested and more than 100 injured in what was one of the largest mass arrests in the city’s history. The arrests last week at Columbia were the largest mass arrest at the school since 1968.
On Monday, hundreds of Columbia and Barnard faculty and Student Workers of Columbia union members (UAW Local 2710) walked out of their classrooms and held a rally in support of the encampment to a crowd of hundreds. The rally was held on the steps of the Low Library in spite of prohibitions by the school. The faculty members denounced the university president’s calling of the NYPD, suspensions and evictions of students—all without due process.
Both Columbia and its affiliate Barnard College have announced that classes will be held online for the rest of the semester.
Following the Columbia encampment, several other student coalitions across campuses have followed suit and established their own Gaza Solidarity Encampments demanding their schools divest from Israel while also standing in solidarity with the arrested Columbia students.
At Yale, around 50 students were arrested Monday following a three-day student encampment established outside of the university president’s office. Following the arrests, students took to the streets and blocked traffic until they were dispersed by the police.
At NYU, about 150 people were arrested during a violent police crackdown on an encampment outside the NYU business school, including 20 faculty members. Police in riot gear moved in on the encampment while Muslim protesters were praying and used pepper spray on demonstrators blocking the police buses. Protesters fought back against the police and resisted their attacks.
At UT Austin, police in riot gear and on horseback attacked student demonstrators as they staged a walkout 500-strong Wednesday afternoon. At least 54 people were arrested violently according to a lawyer aiding the students, including at least two members of the media. Before the walkout, both the UT administration and Texas Governor Abbott had asked the police to arrest the students, with Abbot deploying state troopers to campus to do just that.
Encampments have also been set up at M.I.T., Emerson College, University of Michigan, UC Berkeley, and others. At California Polytechnic State University, Humboldt, students occupied a building and barricaded the doors. Following an incursion by the police, protesters forced the police out and maintained control of the building. A 7-hour building occupation took place at UT Dallas, ending when the administration promised to discuss the protester’s demand with them. Solidarity protests have taken place at a number of other universities, including Stanford, Brown, Princeton, Northwestern, Boston University, and UNC Chapel Hill, among others.
note: The number of arrested at the Austin TX student walkout has been updated to be more precise.
photo: “The People’s Library” at the Columbia University Gaza Solidarity Encampment
