Education

Columbia Begins Suspending Student Protesters Who Won’t Leave

  • University had set 2 p.m. deadline for students to exit lawn
  • School seeks to clear emcampment before commencement
Pro-Palestinian encampment at the Columbia University, on April 28.Photographer: Charly Triballeau/AFP/Getty Images
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Columbia University said it has started to suspend students who defied a 2 p.m. deadline to clear out of its West Lawn, ratcheting up tensions over a pro-Palestinian encampment established more than a week ago.

On April 18, Columbia had called in the police to clear protesters for trespassing on its grounds, but that move made students dig in and re-establish their encampment. It also inspired similar sit-ins and demonstrations at other schools across the US, including Harvard University, Yale University and the University of Southern California.