Columbia crackdown fuels national student protests for Gaza

April 19 — Columbia University students continue their “Gaza solidarity encampment” on the main lawn of the New York City campus, defying a heavy police crackdown, with 122 arrested. The action, coordinated by various student organizations, including Columbia University Apartheid Divest, Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine, and Columbia Jewish Voice for Peace, has persisted for over 48 hours.

Inspired by the Columbia students’ actions, students at the University of North Carolina and Miami University in Ohio have staged their own encampments in solidarity. National Students for Justice in Palestine issued a “call to action” for students nationwide to “seize the university and force the administration to divest, for the people of Gaza.” A large crowd has also taken to the streets outside Columbia University in support of the encampment.