Columbia University’s president said on Monday that talks with pro-Palestinian protesters over the dismantling of an encampment on the Ivy League campus had failed and urged them to voluntarily disperse or face suspension from school.
President Nemat Minouche Shafik said days of talks between student organisers and academic leaders had failed to break a stalemate over the tent encampment set up to protest Israel’s war in Gaza.
Shafik said Columbia would not divest assets that support Israel’s military, a key demand of the protesters, but offered to invest in health and education in Gaza, and make Columbia’s direct investment holdings more transparent.
Protesters have vowed to keep their encampment on the Manhattan campus until Columbia meets three demands: divestment, transparency in Columbia’s finances and amnesty for students and faculty disciplined for their part in the protests.
The university sent protesters a letter on Monday morning, warning that students who did not vacate the encampment by 1800 GMT and sign a form acknowledging their participation would face suspension and become ineligible to complete the semester in good standing.