The President of Columbia University issued a statement on Wednesday after a night which saw the protestors occupying the campus of New York’s Ivy League institution dispersed by police.
The use of force to curtail the protests came after demonstrators occupied the university’s Hamilton Hall, a move which Shafik characterizes as an “escalation” which warranted the use of law enforcement to quell the unrest.
“I know I speak for many members of our community in saying that this turn of events has filled me with deep sadness. I am sorry we reached this point,” Shafik said in her statement.
“Over the last few months, we have been patient in tolerating unauthorized demonstrations, including the encampment. Our academic leaders spent eight days engaging over long hours in serious dialogue in good faith with protest representatives. I thank them for their tireless effort,” she continued. “The University offered to consider new proposals on divestment and shareholder activism, to review access to our dual degree programs and global centers, to reaffirm our commitment to free speech, and to launch educational and health programs in Gaza and the West Bank. Some other universities have achieved agreement on similar proposals. Our efforts to find a solution went into Tuesday evening, but regrettably, we were unable to come to resolution”
“Because my first responsibility is safety, with the support of the University’s Trustees, I made the decision to ask the New York City Police Department to intervene to end the occupation of Hamilton Hall and dismantle the main encampment along with a new, smaller encampment. These actions were completed Tuesday night, and I thank the NYPD for their incredible professionalism and support,” Shafik added.
The Columbia president, herself a Muslim-born Egyptian-American, expressed pride in Columbia’s history of activism, contrasting activist movements such as those against the Vietnam War and South African Apartheid with the destruction brought by the pro-Palestinians last month.
“It is going to take time to heal, but I know we can do that together. I hope that we can use the weeks ahead to restore calm, allow students to complete their academic work, and honor their achievements at Commencement. We also must continue with urgency our ongoing dialogue on the important issues that have been raised in recent months, especially the balance between free speech and discrimination and the role of a university in contributing to better outcomes in the Middle East. Both are topics where I hope Columbia can lead the way in new thinking that will make us the epicenter, not just of protests, but of solutions to the world’s problems,” Shafik concluded.
The post Columbia President Releases Statements After Police Evict Protestors From Campus appeared first on Resist the Mainstream.
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Author: Nicholas Dolinger
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