April 29, 2024 - Columbia begins suspending student protesters

Dozens of people were arrested Monday at a protest on the campus of University of Texas at Austin, according to the university’s Defend Palestine Encampment, who also alleged that officers used force to take people into custody.

The encampment was formed on the school’s South Mall Lawn around 12:30 p.m. CT, and around an hour later, officers from the Texas Department of Public Safety, the Austin Police Department and campus police responded wearing riot gear, a news release from organizers said. 

The university is working on compiling information, including the number of people arrested, for a news release later Monday, said Brian Davis, senior manager for issues and crisis communications at the university. 

The Travis County Sheriff’s Office will not have a total number of arrests until Tuesday morning, spokesperson Kristen Dark told CNN. 

CNN has reached out to the Department of Public Safety for comment. 

"We demand that UT divest from the Zionist state of Israel and from all institutions and companies that are enabling the current genocide in Gaza … We demand the resignation of President (Jay) Hartzell for green-lighting the militarized repression of peaceful student protesters on their own campus,” Lenna Nasr, of the Palestinian Youth Movement, said in the news release. 

CNN's Joe Sutton and Cindy Von Quednow contributed to this report. 

Cornell University is suspending students after an encampment on campus declined to move to an alternate location, President Martha E. Pollack said in a message Monday. 

Cornell University leaders then offered an alternative location for the encampment, according to Pollack. 

"With an approved permit in hand, the protesters could have remained in the alternative location, per our policies, thereby avoiding disciplinary sanctions," Pollack's message said. 

Suspensions followed throughout the weekend as university leaders tried again to give the encampment, an "opportunity to move to the alternate location." 

"Since last Thursday, we have tried to engage thoughtfully with the participants, and will try to continue to do so. But we need to soon get to a resolution that respects our policies, promotes the public health and safety of the community, and preserves the rights of all to do their work," Pollack said. 

CNN's Michelle Watson contributed to this report 

In a conversation with CNN's Wolf Blitzer, Columbia student lead negotiator Mahmoud Khalil, discussed what he called an "anti-Palestinian narrative" at the school amid pro-Palestinian protests.

Khalil was also asked what he would say to Jewish students who feel unsafe on campus.

Hundreds of people have been arrested on college and university campuses from coast to coast as schools prepare for spring commencement ceremonies. The University of Southern California — where nearly 100 protesters were arrested April 24 — canceled its primary commencement event.

Protesters have been arrested on more than 20 campuses across at least 16 states. Many other schools have experienced protests without arrests.

CNN is monitoring campus protests and will continue to update this map with any new arrests.

Local law enforcement officials have arrived on the University of California Irvine campus after being called to assist campus police, officials said.

Campus officers are joined by city of Irvine police at the pro-Palestinian protest in the school’s physical sciences plaza, according to university spokesman Tom Vasich.

The Orange County Sheriff was asked to send additional personnel to assist, department Sgt. Matthew Parrish told CNN. 

Vasich estimates there are about 100 protesters in the area, including some not affiliated with the university. About 10 tents have been erected in violation of university policy, he said. The sheriff’s department was called in for support only, he added.

Irvine Mayor Farrah Khan issued a statement “preemptively condemning” any police action that might violate the First Amendment rights of the protesters.

About a dozen protesters remain outside the main gates of Columbia University on 116th Street and Broadway in New York.

The protesters are no longer chanting but are milling around in the pens outside the gates.

At its peak, CNN witnessed at least 60 protesters gathered outside the gates, chanting and holding signs.

 A Columbia University student said he flew a large Israeli flag above pro-Palestinian protests on campus Monday to show that Jewish students will not be intimidated by those marching on campus today.

Lederer, who flew the flag about two hours after the 2 p.m. ET deadline set by the administration to clear the encampment, previously told CNN in an interview that he and his brother were harassed and assaulted on campus by pro-Palestinian protesters. 

Pro-Palestinian protesters voted to defy the campus order to vacate and stay in the encampment.

Columbia University has begun suspending student protesters who refused to vacate the on-campus encampment by the 2 p.m. ET deadline set by the administration.

These students will not be eligible to complete the semester or graduate and won't be allowed in university housing and academic buildings, the New York-based university said.

"Once disciplinary action is initiated, adjudication is handled by several different units within the university based on the nature of the offense," Vice President of Public Affairs Ben Chang said during a briefing Monday evening.  

The two bodies overseeing this disciplinary process are the Office of University Life and the university's senate, a policy-making group that represents students and faculty.

"Decisions made by the Office of University Life can be appealed to the dean of the student's school," said Chang. "Decisions made by the senate can be appealed to a panel of deans and, ultimately, the university's president."

Chang added that the university asked student protesters to remove the encampment, in part, to make sure that the university's commencement ceremony for its 15,000 graduates can continue as planned.

The students at Columbia, the epicenter of the weeklong pro-Palestinian protests, had earlier voted to defy the order and stay.

The post was updated with more details from Monday's news briefing.

Northwestern University on Monday announced an agreement with student demonstrators to limit the scope of the campus protest and end the encampment at Deering Meadow, the school said in a news release.

Through negotiations with “a group of students and faculty who represent the majority of the protesters on Deering Meadow,” both parties agreed to limit the scope of the protest, while granting some of the organizers' requests for transparency and free speech protections.

According to the agreement, protesters will be allowed at the site through the end of spring classes — on June 1 — as long as the scope is reduced to one aid tent, sound amplifiers are within university policy and participants are limited to those affiliated with the university. 

The University will also be reconvening its Advisory Committee on Investment and Responsibility in the fall, and in the agreement committed to additional transparency regarding specific investment holdings. Additionally, the University announced it will commit to supporting Palestinian faculty and students, including fully funding the cost of attendance for five Palestinian students and constructing a community space for Middle Eastern and North African/Muslim students.

In a series of Instagram posts, the Northwestern Divestment Coalition, which was involved in establishing the encampment, called the agreement a “first step” toward divestment, saying it was approved by elected representatives in a 17-1 vote. The coalition represents student groups including NU Students for Justice in Palestine and NU Jewish Voice for Peace.

Monday marked the fifth day of the encampment at Northwestern. Counter-protesters and police were present at the encampment sporadically, and the atmosphere remained peaceful and nonviolent over the weekend.