Columbia University, a prestigious Ivy League school in the United States, has announced that its negotiations with student protesters has fallen through, opening up the potential for severe consequences for those involved in a pro-Palestinian encampment on campus.
“Since Wednesday, a small group of academic leaders has been in constructive dialogue with student organizers to find a path that would result in the dismantling of the encampment,” Columbia president Nemat Minouche Shafik wrote in a statement on Monday.
“WE WILL NOT STOP, WE WILL NOT REST!!” one group, Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine, wrote on social media. “We will continue until our demands are met. We will not be intimidated.”
So the 60’s are back. People are fighting for human rights and college students are protesting. The same generation that was fighting is now the protectors of status quo. Sad times.
I feel bad for the students who were used as shields and will now be suspended. Columbia has closed its campus to outsiders (it’s always been open to anyone), and like magic the campus will quiet down. Imagine that.
