Columbia University on Monday issued notices to students in protest camps that they will be suspended if they don’t clear out, hours after the school’s president said it will not divest from Israel — a demand that has sparked protests on college campuses across the country.
The university told student demonstrators to vacate by 2 p.m. or else “be suspended pending further investigation” and barred from completing the spring semester.
At the encampment, now in its second week, participants voted nearly unanimously to stay put.
President Minouche Shafik in her statement asked the protesters to voluntarily disperse, saying the demonstration had created “an unwelcoming environment for many of our Jewish students and faculty,” that “external actors” have contributed to a “hostile environment” around university gates, and that it had become a “noisy distraction” for students.
Shafik also cited the May 15 commencement, saying, “We also do not want to deprive thousands of students and their families and friends of a graduation celebration.”
Columbia was the first elite institution struck by protests in support of the Palestinian cause, with students demanding that the school divest from investments that support weapons manufacturing and Israel amid the backdrop of the Israel-Hamas war, in which more than 34,000 people have been killed in the Gaza Strip. Protests spread quickly last week on campuses from coast to coast, resulting in mass arrests and crackdowns.
“While the University will not divest from Israel,” it offered to create an expedited timeline for a review of new proposals from students by the school’s Advisory Committee for Socially Responsible Investing, which explores divestment, Shafik said. “The University also offered to publish a process for students to access a list of Columbia’s direct investment holdings, and to increase the frequency of updates to that list of holdings,” she added.
Though the talks at Columbia were at a stalemate, there did appear to be some small movements in negotiation. Shafik said the university had offered “to make investments in health and education in Gaza, including supporting early childhood development and support for displaced scholars.”
“We urge those in the encampment to voluntarily disperse. We are consulting with a broader group in our community to explore alternative internal options to end this crisis as soon as possible. We will continue to update the community with new developments,” she said.
The notices, viewed by NBC News and issued to protest participants Monday morning, asked protesters to identify themselves to a university official and sign a form agreeing to an alternative resolution for the university policy violations that the encampment posed.
Those who sign are eligible to complete the semester in good standing and will not be placed on suspension, if they adhere to obeying university policies.
Those who don’t vacate by 2 p.m. would be suspended.
“We regret that we need to take these actions, but we must restore order to the campus that all students can complete their work for the term, study for exams, and feel welcome in the community,” the notice said.
If the encampment isn’t removed, the notice said: “We will need to initiate disciplinary procedures because of a number of violations of university policies. These are policies you agreed to adhere to when you joined our community.”
It noted that the university would offer “an alternative venue for demonstrations after the exam period and commencement have concluded.”The alternative resolution said signees agree to disciplinary probation, to comply with university policies and agree to participate in university disciplinary processes.
A rally by Columbia University Apartheid Divest with Students Workers of Columbia, a protected unionized group, was scheduled for 1 p.m. Monday.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com