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'Crisis' at Columbia University forces classes online, arrests at Yale: Live updates
Following a weekend of protests, Columbia University announced classes will be held virtually while police arrested students at Yale University.
www.usatoday.com
The announcement comes after days of protests at the school which have raised concerns for the safety of the university's Jewish students and fueled a national debate over student demonstrations as campuses across the country grapple with growing unrest over the war in Gaza. Yale police arrested dozens of students on Monday after they declined to clear an encampment and Harvard closed its main lawn area to the public in anticipation of protests..
Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, met with Columbia University President Minouche Shafik Monday morning to discuss the security situation on the school’s Manhattan campus. In a video posted on X, the governor underscored the need to ensure students and faculty have the right to peacefully protest while also upholding human rights laws.
President Biden responds to 'alarming surge of Antisemitism' following protests
Following days of escalating protests at several major universities across the country, President Joe Biden urged Americans to speak out against an “alarming surge of Antisemitism” in the U.S.
"Silence is complicity," Biden said in a written statement Sunday night. "Even in recent days, we’ve seen harassment and calls for violence against Jews. This blatant Antisemitism is reprehensible and dangerous – and it has absolutely no place on college campuses, or anywhere in our country.
Columbia University is facing a full-blown crisis heading into Passover as a rabbi linked to the Ivy League school urged Jewish students to stay home and tense confrontations on campus sparked condemnation from the White House and New York officials.
The atmosphere is so charged that Columbia officials announced students can attend classes and even possibly take exams virtually starting Monday – the first day of Passover, a major Jewish holiday set to begin in the evening.
Tensions at Columbia, and many universities, have been high ever since the October 7 terror attack on Israel by Hamas. However, the situation at Columbia escalated in recent days after university officials testified before Congress last week about antisemitism on campus and pro-Palestinian protests on and near campus surged.
The latest crisis has opened Columbia President Minouche Shafik up to new attacks from her critics, with Republican US Rep. Elise Stefanik demanding she step down immediately because school leadership has “clearly lost control of its campus.”
Jewish students are being targeted according to reports and student safety has become a major concern.
Crazy stuff is happening at Izy League Schools because of a war in another country.
