New York: Columbia University’s president said on Monday that talks with pro-Palestinian protesters over the dismantling of an encampment on the Ivy League campus had failed and urged them to voluntarily disperse or face suspension from school.

President Nemat Minouche Shafik said days of talks between student organisers and academic leaders had failed to break a stalemate over the encampment set up to protest Israeli attacks on Gaza.

Shafik said in a statement Columbia would not divest assets that support Israel’s military, a key demand of the protesters, but offered to invest in health and education in Gaza, and make Columbia’s direct investment holdings more transparent.

Protesters have vowed to keep their encampment on the Manhattan campus until Columbia meets three demands: divestment, transparency in finances and amnesty for students and faculty disciplined for their part in the protests.

Shafik faced an outcry from many students, faculty and outside observers for summoning police two weeks ago to dismantle the encampment, resulting in more than 100 arrests.

Efforts to dismantle the encampment, which students set up again within days of the April 18 police action, have triggered dozens of similar protests at schools from California to Boston.

Last week, the university took no action when two deadlines it had imposed on protesters to remove their tents slipped by without a deal. It cited progress in the talks.

Protesters shared online a copy of a warning letter sent to them by the university on Monday morning. The letter, which the university sent in addition to the public statement, said students who did not vacate the encampment by 1800 GMT and sign a form acknowledging their participation would face suspension and become ineligible to complete the semester in good standing.

Even students who signed the form and left the area on Monday would still go on “disciplinary probation” until June next year or their graduation, whichever came first, according to the letter, which a Columbia spokesperson confirmed was authentic.

Protests at Columbia and other US universities continued at full force over the weekend, with more arrests around the country and skirmishes between pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian demonstrators at UCLA on Sunday.

Published in Dawn, April 30th, 2024