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April 26, 2024 - Protests at Columbia and other schools escalate

By Elizabeth Wolfe, Dalia Faheid, Aya Elamroussi, Nouran Salahieh, Samantha Delouya, Aditi Sangal and Tori B. Powell, CNN

Updated 2:38 p.m. ET, April 27, 2024

Here's what we covered here

Pro-Palestinian protests continue at major US universities, where several schools have called police on protesters, leading to the arrests of hundreds across the country.
At New York's Columbia University, the epicenter of the demonstrations, the school banned a student leader who said in January “Zionists don’t deserve to live.” He subsequently apologized. Also, more than 100 Israeli students wrote to school authorities they felt unsafe on the campus.
Columbia's senate – a policy-making body representing faculty, students and administrative staff – passed a resolution late Friday to investigate the university leadership’s handling of the protests.
The protesters at Columbia have been demanding the school cut ties with Israeli academic institutions and disinvest from Israel-linked entities, as the death toll climbs from Israel's bombardment of Gaza. Protesters at other campuses have similar demands.

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2:36 a.m. ET, April 26, 2024

USC cancels its main commencement ceremony

From CNN's Samantha Delouya and Josh du Lac

Te University of Southern California canceled its main commencement ceremony for 2024 graduating students in May, citing "new safety measures in place."

"We understand that this is disappointing," the university said in an announcement on its website.

The announcement came days after the university canceled the commencement speech of its Muslim valedictorian, Asna Tabassum, due to what it called security concerns. USC then canceled appearances by prominent speakers and honorees at the May 10 graduation ceremony.

USC's commencement weekend is scheduled for May 8-11. Its main stage ceremony traditionally brought all 65,000 students and their families together. The university said it would host "new activities and celebrations" to ensure the weekend would still be "meaningful, memorable and uniquely USC."

Many students in the class of 2024 graduated high school in 2020, meaning they may also have missed out on graduation ceremonies due to Covid-19.

1:55 a.m. ET, April 26, 2024

Pro-Palestinian Columbia students file civil rights complaint

From CNN's Ramishah Maruf

Palestine Legal filed a civil rights complaint against Columbia University this week through the US Department of Education, demanding the agency's Office for Civil Rights investigate the school's treatment of Palestinian students and allies.

The complaint goes beyond the events of the last week, when NYPD arrested more than 100 protesting students.

It alleged that for the past months, "Palestinian students, Arabs, Muslims, students perceived to be Palestinian, and students associated with or advocating for Palestinians" were subject to anti-Arab and anti-Palestinian harassment and Islamophobia.

The complaint represents four students and Columbia's Students for Justice in Palestine. Palestine Legal said these students received death threats and were "harassed for wearing keffiyehs or hijab, doxed, stereotyped, being treated differently by high-ranking administrators including Columbia University President Minouche Shafik."

Palestine Legal also said the school has the responsibility to protect its students, including Palestinians and supporters, and should not threaten or call the police or military. Columbia has denied threats to call the National Guard were ever on the table in negotiations with protesters.

"Since October 7th alone, the organization has received reports of over 1,800 incidents, over five times the number we received in all of 2022, reflecting an exponential rise in anti-Palestinian repression across the US," Palestine Legal said in a press release.

1:47 p.m. ET, April 26, 2024

Georgia Democratic lawmakers concerned over law enforcement response to Emory protest

From CNN's Chandelis Duster and Devon M. Sayers

A Georgia State Patrol officer detains a protester on the campus of Emory University during a pro-Palestinian demonstration Thursday, April 25, in Atlanta, Georgia. Mike Stewart/AP

A group of Democratic Georgia state lawmakers on Thursday condemned the “excessive force used by Georgia State Patrol” during arrests at Emory University.

“The use of extreme anti-riot tactics by Georgia State Patrol, including tasers and gas, is a dangerous escalation to protests which were by all accounts peaceful and nonviolent,” according to the statement posted on social media by Georgia state Rep. Ruwa Romman, a Democrat who is also Palestinian.

The group blamed Georgia leaders and said they have created an environment where “state police feel free or perhaps are directed— to respond to normal peaceful protests with violence.”

“We cannot allow this dangerous repression to continue. Regardless of one's views on this or any other issue, there is no justification for this kind of excessive force,” they continued in the statement. “We call on all state officials to immediately deescalate and prevent further harm to our constituents.”

The ACLU of Georgia also said on Thursday it was concerned about law enforcement’s response to the protests.

“The freedom to protest without retribution is essential to our democracy. Atlanta has historically been a place where citizens could freely exercise their rights to protest, but we have unfortunately seen a series of unconstitutional crackdowns on speech and protest across Georgia in recent years,” the organization said in a statement.

“Colleges and universities should be places where viewpoints, expression, debate, and free speech are encouraged, not suppressed.”

1:54 a.m. ET, April 26, 2024

Columbia's president faces calls from all sides to step down

From CNN's Nathaniel Meyersohn

Minouche Shafik, president of Columbia University, testifies during the House Education and the Workforce Committee hearing in Washington, DC, on April 17. Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc/Getty Images

When Minouche Shafik was announced as Columbia University’s president last year, she was called the “perfect candidate” by the chair of Columbia’s Board of Trustees.

Now, some of her own students and professors, as well as the speaker of the House of Representatives, are calling on her to resign.

Just over nine months into her tenure, Shafik is under pressure for her handling of Columbia campus protests over the war between Israel and Hamas.

College administrators have been under intense scrutiny in the wake of the war in Gaza. University of Pennsylvania president Liz Magill and Harvard University president Claudine Gay both stepped down in the wake of pressure over their response to antisemitism on campus.

At Columbia, some students, faculty and left-leaning lawmakers are enraged that Shafik authorized the New York Police Department to shut down student protests on campus that have been urging the university to cut off its economic and academic ties to Israel. They say the crackdown on student protests, which resulted in more than 100 arrests, violated academic freedom.

Other students, religious groups and right-leaning lawmakers say the administration has failed to stop antisemitism inside Columbia’s campus and at protests outside its gates.

“These are incredibly difficult situations for a university president, especially someone who is not tested over time,” said James Finkelstein, a professor emeritus of public policy at George Mason University who studies the selection and employment of university presidents.

“She’s at serious risk of being able to survive this,” Finkelstein added.

“The likelihood of her keeping her job is at best 50-50.”

Read the full story.