Protests at Columbia and other schools escalate

New York City Mayor Eric Adams said Tuesday authorities have identified “outside agitators” causing problems at the mostly peaceful student protests at Columbia, NYU and other schools in the city. 

“We can’t have outside agitators come in and be disruptive,” the mayor said at a news conference Tuesday.

“We need to address this while it’s a spark. Let’s not wait until it’s a blaze,” Adams said. The mayor's administration will be meeting with the heads of universities Tuesday to go over best practices for how they can keep students protesting peacefully. 

A key part of that, he said, is keeping protesters who are not students off the campus. That may mean sharing intel by identifying some known protesters to the universities. 

CNN's Chris Boyette contributed to this report.

President Joe Biden is “of course aware” of pro-Palestinian protests that have roiled college campuses across the country, the White House said Tuesday.

White House Deputy Press Secretary Andrew Bates told reporters traveling with Biden on Air Force One that the administration is “monitoring these situations closely,” taking the opportunity to condemn what he called “alarming rhetoric,” at some student protests.

“[The president]’s, of course, aware of the protests — we know that this is a painful moment for many communities, we respect that, and we support every American's right to peacefully protest, that's something that we have been consistent about,” Bates said.

But he wouldn’t say what the administration thinks of some Republicans’ call to deploy the National Guard to respond to campus protests at Columbia University. Bates added that the decision to deploy National Guard members would fall to New York Gov. Kathy Hochul.

Passover is a Jewish holiday symbolizing emancipation. But this year, with the backdrop of the war against Hamas, still-missing Israeli hostages and devastating civilian causalities in Gaza, the celebration — and the conversations around it — will be more complex for many who will be partaking.

Rabbi Jan Uhrbach, the founding director of the Block/Kolker Center for Spiritual Arts at the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York, told CNN she will host two Passover Seders this year.

“The whole ritual of the Seder is grounded in the notion that when we speak to each other in deep, holy ways, and we listen in deep holy ways, that’s what brings redemption,” she said. “It’s about uncovering the complexity of what we’re seeing. It’s about uncovering the struggles, the things that are hard to talk about. Not only because we worry that someone may disagree, but because we have trouble articulating what we ourselves may feel and believe.”

It’s important to remember that discussions at the Seder table could get contentious in part because people care, not because they want to hurt one another, she said.

“We human beings long for things to be simple, especially to be morally simple,” she said. “We want clear good guys and bad guys that enable us to feel like we are right. But the reality of morality isn’t like that. The reality of a moral life for a mature person is that we make complex choices.”

Rabbi Uhrbach says that this year’s Seder is ultimately about gratitude.

“We’re all here at the same table,” she said. “That’s what matters.”

Nine people were arrested Tuesday morning at the University of Minnesota’s Twin Cities campus after they formed an encampment that went against school policy, the university told CNN in a statement. 

The university's Department of Public Safety received reports Tuesday morning of an encampment near the Northrop Mall on the Twin Cities campus, the statement said. Police arrived around 6 am local time and told those at the encampment "they were in violation of both University policy and state trespassing law," they said. 

Police asked the group to disperse by 7 am and told they would be arrested if they stayed. Nine people remained who were arrested without incident, the statement said. 

The Faculty, Librarians, Alumni, Graduate Students, and Staff for Justice in Palestine at the University of Minnesota (FLAGS JP) posted video on their social media Tuesday showing the encampment in support of "unconditional solidarity with Palestine and demand an end to the genocide and apartheid." CNN has reached out to the group for comment on the arrests. 

The university said in its statement it "supports and respects free speech through lawful protest" and "supports the rights of all members of our University community to speak and demonstrate peacefully." 

In an email to students Monday, Barnard College President Laura Rosenbury said the "vast majority" of students on interim suspension do not have previous conduct violations and that Barnard will consider lifting suspensions and restoring access to campus for students who commit to a probationary period.

Barnard students were among the protestors suspended and arrested Thursday when the New York Police Department cleared the encampment on Columbia's East Lawn.

Isra Hirsi, daughter of US Rep. Ilhan Omar, was among the Barnard students placed on suspension for participating in the protest encampment.

Students with previous violations will be addressed "thoughtfully through our conduct process," Rosenbury wrote in the email, which was subsequently posted on the university's website.

Barnard students on interim suspension are barred from campus but may use college services like health care, mental health counseling and academic guidance, Rosenbury wrote.

Barnard professors are able to permit students on interim suspension to attend class remotely.

"I strongly believe that exposure to uncomfortable ideas is a vital component of education, and I applaud the boldness of all of our students who speak out, but no student should fear for their safety while at Barnard, and no one should feel that they do not belong. We must always respect and protect one another, especially when we disagree." Rosenbury wrote.

Over 20 tents have been set up in front of a chapel at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Tuesday. 

The tents display numerous Palestinian flags and signage demanding MIT stop providing “support for the Israeli Occupation Forces." Another sign reads "liberated zone." The area is currently quiet, and it appears most demonstrators are on their laptops working. 

The area is encircled by metal fencing, and police cruisers are parked near the tents where four officers are walking around on foot. 

US Education Sec. Miguel Cardona said Tuesday he is "deeply concerned" about incidents of antisemitism at Columbia University and pointed to a previously opened Civil Rights investigation into the university for violations involving antisemitic harassment.

"Antisemitic hate on college campuses is unacceptable. I am deeply concerned by what is happening at Columbia University. In November 2023, our Office for Civil Rights opened an investigation of Columbia involving Title VI," Cardona wrote on X.

The Department of Education had previously announced it was opening an investigation into a number of institutions for "alleged shared ancestry violations" following allegations of antisemitic harassment. The investigations were launched under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, which says universities and K-12 schools have a responsibility to provide all students with an environment free from discrimination.

"While we can’t comment on pending investigations, every student deserves to feel a sense of safety and belonging at school. Hate has no place in our schools. All education leaders must stand definitively against hate, antisemitism, anti-Arab, and anti-Muslim sentiment," Cardona wrote Tuesday.

Democratic Rep. Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey on Tuesday said Minouche Shafik, Columbia University’s president, should do more regarding the protests at the school.

But he said "it’s up to the board of trustees” on whether Shafik should resign.

“The president of Columbia must act…Now it's time for action, not just words,” Gottheimer told CNN’s Kasie Hunt on CNN This Morning. “This is a big moment for the president of Columbia and frankly for presidents across the country.”

“The question for all of these presidents is, ‘Will they step up to the moment and do the right thing?’ And that's what we should expect from them: To act and not just to talk, not just for words. But actually for action and to make all students feel safe,” he said.

Gottheimer also said having students attend hybrid classes and stay home to feel safe “is not what should be expected at Columbia or any college.”

“I'm expecting the president of Columbia to step up and fix that. And the bottom line is there's federal funding that goes to these universities... They have a legal obligation to protect all students under Title VI and that's the expectation. We expect that from Congress out of these universities and I'm hoping they step up to the moment and they have to do so now.”

Asked if he would feel safe sending his children to Columbia University in the current environment, Gottheimer said: “After what I saw yesterday, I would be very concerned.”

He also said there should be Title VI investigations when it comes to situations similar to what is happening on campus.

Gottheimer was one of several lawmakers who walked across Columbia University on Monday to stand in solidarity with Jewish students. 

Pro-Palestinian protests continue to rock major American universities, prompting school officials across the country to take extraordinary steps to confront the growing crisis.

The protests, counter-protests, actions by college officials and demands from lawmakers underscore the unrest that has engulfed universities, leading many students, especially Jewish students, to fear for their safety as the Passover holiday is underway.

Pro-Palestinian protesters and their supporters – sometimes including faculty – are condemning crackdowns on protests and free speech, while from some students, parents, donors and lawmakers are pleading with administrators to take new steps to restore order.

In recent days, the on-campus demonstrations have attracted non-university-affiliated protesters to the campus gates, which student organizers have sought to distance themselves from.

As the protests continue, a growing sense of unease has spread among Columbia University’s Jewish community as they enter the approximately weeklong observation of Passover, a major Jewish holiday celebrating freedom.

Hagar Chemali, an adjunct associate professor of international and public affairs at Columbia University, told CNN, “If I had my child at Columbia, I also would tell them to go home.”

“It’s not just because of the tension on campus, it’s also because those protests on campus have invited extremists outside,” Chemali said, referring to non-student protesters who have been demonstrating near the campus.

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