Campus protests over Israel’s war in Gaza have spread across the country. Police are clashing with protesters in New York, at the University of Austin in Texas – where there were arrests – and in Los Angeles at the University of Southern California.
After a tense night of negotiations and protests at Columbia University, leaders on campus have agreed to extend talks with pro-Palestinian student protester encampments for another 48 hours. It comes as the speaker of the House of Representatives, Mike Johnson, called on university President Minouche Shafik to quit if the protests are not brought under control.
School administrators initially set a midnight deadline for encampments to disband from campus but changed their tune around 3am after students agreed to remove some tents and non-students as well as stop discriminatory or harassing language among protesters.
Some Jewish students have faced antisemitic harassment leading to safety concerns on campus.
In return, the school will allow talks to continue and delay increasing police presence on the already locked down campus.
More than 100 people have been arrested at Columbia alone in connection to the protest encampments which are asking the school to divest financial ties to the war in Gaza.