NEW YORK (AP) — The pro-Palestinian demonstration that paralyzed Columbia University ended in dramatic fashion, with police carrying riot shields bursting into a building that protesters took over the previous night and making dozens of arrests. On the other side of the country, clashes broke out early Wednesday between dueling groups at the University of California, Los Angeles.
New York City officers entered Columbia’s campus late Tuesday after the university requested help, according to a statement released by a spokesperson. A tent encampment on the school’s grounds was cleared, along with Hamilton Hall where a stream of officers used a ladder to climb through a second-floor window.
Meanwhile, violence broke out at UCLA overnight between pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli protesters. Police wearing face shields formed a line but did not immediately intervene.
The clashes took place just outside a tent encampment, where pro-Palestinian protesters erected barricades and plywood for protection — and counter-protesters tried to pull them down.
For anyone interested, one of the last live streams https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FD-ohHo8crg Most of the others went to sleep after the masked israeli agitators left when the cops started moving in.
The camp people did a pretty good job at deescalating but when you have 30+ random masked people trying to tear down your camp, throwing stuff at you and beating up old people trying to deescalate then its tough to stay calm.
Pretty telling tho that police was present for 4+ hours and did nothing while people were getting assaulted. Eventually they will probably attempt to clear the camp under the pretense of violent acts happening, when the only violent people were the ones outside the camp.
The line “violence broke out” struck me as odd. The mention of the violence taking place because Pro Israel protesters were in the Pro Palestine side tearing down barricades came much later in the article. This drastically changes the dynamic of the violence. “Violence breaks out” when a person wearing a keffiyeh defends themselves.
Yeah im sure this is gonna get covered by the news in a totally fair and accurate way. /s
For all us fake-news enjoyers I came across a video of the “violence breaking out” https://twitter.com/TeresaWatanabe/status/1785575610469007471
“Violence” is not an actor, violence does not “break out”. It’s a phrase used to hide the actors who instigated the violence, either due to a lack of knowledge or due to willful obfuscation. We have videos of what happened, so we know which it is.
I saw this article first this morning: Counter-protesters attack pro-Palestinian encampment at UCLA It’s local coverage, with a timestamp several hours before articles by national organizations.
Interesting the contrast, isn’t it? Also interesting how the police withdraw before the attack, in addition to standing by and letting it happen after they returned.
These two videos really tell the whole story
https://twitter.com/TeresaWatanabe/status/1785575610469007471
https://twitter.com/whoknows197563/status/1785586304354283932
Are there non-twitter links?
Here are two mirrors
Ty!
police burst into a building at Columbia University that pro-Palestinian protesters took over
Really? The protesters should have brought a bunch of guns. Then the cops would have brought them pizza and eventually let them go free.
Unironically, yes. These peaceful protests will probably not achieve any material change.
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For less controversial things it can work. But also “peaceful” is a really weird term for protests. Blocking and barricading increasingly important infrastructure is still technically peaceful, but it will definitely have an effect if you keep it up long enough.
Not really, at least not unless there’s a contingent of protestors who are willing to utilize a diversity of action in tandem with the nonviolent protestors. This contingent existed alongside MLK, Ghandi, etc., pretty much every example held up as a successful “nonviolent” protest.
There’s a reason the Black Panthers were armed when they distributed free food to poor black children.
Just remember… the administration of Brown University opened a dialog about divestment (to my knowledge they haven’t committed to anything yet) and somehow, magically, they aren’t having these problems.
Universities serve their students, it isn’t the other way around.
am I missing something here? I am so confused about everything that’s going on. columbia has been divesting for years now, here is the page:
I gave it a skim but I’m not sure what I’m looking for. What section are you pointing to here?
there are two pages in particular that discuss divestment. the notable investments policies page that can be accessed here: https://www.finance.columbia.edu/content/relevant-investment-policies
the other one I spotted was under the social responsible investing dropdown, which details how to submit requests in order to divest: https://www.finance.columbia.edu/content/proposal-submission-guidelines
I am very confused with this whole situation. I feel this protest shouldn’t have gotten out of hand like it did because there are channels to properly divest.
am I missing a crucial part of why events played out like it did?
Yeah, the part where Columbia students submitted an official request to divest in December 2023. These protests started after the administration refused to respond at all to their request for over 4 months.
I found the exact page you’re talking about, I think: https://www.finance.columbia.edu/sites/default/files/content/ACSRI/12.1.2023 CUAD ACSRI Divestment Proposal.pdf
THIS is the missing piece to the story for me, thanks!! although I can’t find where this was rejected, can you?
It hasn’t been formally rejected because it hasn’t even been formally recognized. Columbia’s basically pretending the request to divest never happened, which is why you haven’t heard anything about it in the news. The only reason I’m aware is that I’ve had the pleasure of talking to some of the brave students on the ground.
thanks
Didn’t Columbia offer the same deal to their students as Brown did? And they rejected it?
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I’m not sure what your point is.
There a ton of propaganda being pumped into social media about Israel’s genocide because it’s being used by the Kremlin as a wedge issue to get Trump elected.
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Can you say Tianenmen Square?
What happened here is horrible, but hyperbole is not helpful. Hundreds of people were murdered by the Chinese military in Tianenmen Square. Let’s hope for everyone’s sake that it doesn’t end up like that. People are already being murdered by the thousands in Palestine.
you’re right, this is more like the 1968 Columbia protests. you know, the one where they put flowers in the barrels of the rifles.
America has its own long and storied history of killing protestors and strikers. we don’t need to look anywhere else for analogies.
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Believe it or not, the Tiananmen Square massacre was part of a power struggle between reformist and authoritarian factions of the CCP.
Per diplomatic cables from multiple observers, regular army units refused to supply the rural units brought in for the massacre and even threatened to open fire if they didn’t leave.
You can guess who won the power struggle but the point is, things are in an even worse place in the US and liberals couldn’t give less of a shit while conservative leaders openly call for Kentanamen State Square 2.
There’s no reformist party or power struggle, it’s literally just the entire US government vs the people.
It is time for the tree of liberty to be watered.
So, let me get this straight. I will make a list of things I do not understand and I hope you can clear these points up to me. Please reference them in your reply so I understand to which of these points you are referring to.
- Some activists assemble in front of an university.
- They are enraged about a political situation on the other side of the world.
- That involved countries there have nothing to do with either the University or the country they are now protesting in.
- They set up camp.
- They break up doors and enter the University’s rooms with force.
- They destroy property within the University.
- The University watches and endures this for several days.
- Finally, after financial and other losses, the University calls Police to end all this.
- The protest was neither registered nor was is coordinated; no spokesperson or head was named or is available.
- Police was shouted at, attacked, and met with overall and disproportionate anger, hostility and force.
- What exacty has this whole action brought to the initial intention of the protesters? Did they reach their goals or got closer to these?
I am exposing myself here because I do not understand the situation and am wondering why everybody is wondering the Police had to mop this up.
Point 3: the university provides funding to weapons manufacturers that are selling weapon systems to the IDF, the protesters very clearly stated they wanted this funding to stop. The US is also very clearly involved in this conflict, as they are a primary supplier of arms and equipment to the IDF, and the government has vetoed or abstained from every UN vote to do something about the Gaza situation.
Point 3: the university provides funding to weapons manufacturers that are selling weapon systems to the IDF
source? columbia university outlines their investments and they do not state this point at all
LOL. Columbia absolutely does not outline their investments, they just name a managing organization.
One of the protest demands is literally for transparency because their investments are not public.
when you say not outlining their assets, do you mean not delivering a financial statement? cause here is the page for them: https://www.finance.columbia.edu/content/columbia-university-financial-reports
and here is the file directly leading to their most recent financials, which does talk about their assets (45 pages): https://www.finance.columbia.edu/sites/default/files/content/Finance Documents/Financial Reports/Columbia University FY23 Financials Signed[9].pdf
So the bottom link leads to a broken page for me. The other links I have browsed the PDF and couldn’t find anything that lists specific investments.
Which PDF lists what their investments are?
The answer is, it doesn’t. Just like the public financial statements of other companies, it’s a standard format report. They think you’re a moron and are treating you like one by saying “loOk at My PdF”.
The person trying to “debate” you is just yet another Zionist playing disingenuous game of moving goalposts and confusing the dialogue.
The demands are clear. Divest from the MIC members whose arms enable genocide. The president of the university said no, and protests started.
A little later in a different thread it seems like they understand now.
