Will NYC pro-Palestinian demonstrators at Columbia University leave today?

Columbia protest negotiations hit impasse

Columbia University students who inspired pro-Palestinian demonstrations across the country say they have reached an impasse with administrators and intend to continue their encampment until their demands are met.

NEW YORK CITY - Columbia University students who inspired pro-Palestinian demonstrations across the country said Friday that they have reached an impasse with administrators and intend to continue their encampment until their demands are met.

The announcement after two days of exhaustive negotiations comes as Columbia's president faces harsh criticism from faculty. The development puts more pressure on university officials to find a resolution ahead of planned graduation ceremonies next month — a problem that campuses from California to Massachusetts are facing.

What is happening at Columbia University?

According to university officials, negotiations are still ongoing with students. It's unclear when the encampments will be removed. Security remains tight and as of Friday morning, the encampments remain.

Columbia officials had said that negotiations were showing progress as the school’s self-imposed early Friday deadline to reach an agreement on dismantling the encampment came and went. Nevertheless, two police buses were parked nearby and there was a noticeable presence of private security and police at entrances to the campus.

"We have our demands; they have theirs," said Ben Chang, a spokesperson for Columbia University, adding that if the talks fail the university will have to consider other options.

Student negotiators representing the Columbia encampment said that after meeting with administrators for 11 hours Thursday and another hour Friday, the university had not met their primary demand for divestment, although they had made progress on a push for more transparent financial disclosures.

"We will not rest until Columbia divests," said Jonathan Ben-Menachem, a fourth-year doctoral student.

On Thursday, Jewish students at the university raised their voices and placed Israeli flags on a separate lawn from the encampment.

Negotiations continue over Columbia protests

Negotiations between pro-Palestine protesters and administrators at Columbia University are ongoing tonight, even as pro-Israel protesters have begun to make their voices heard on campus. FOX 5 NY's Richard Giacovas has the story.

Outside the campus, there was a much more chaotic scene, as tensions boiled over between protesters and counter-protesters. Pro-Israeli protesters called on the remaining hostages to be released and for Columbia President Minouche Shafik to resign. Counter-protesters also stood within the crowd.

Meanwhile, more protests spread to other schools, including at CCNY and FIT, where encampments were set up in support. At one point, protesters stormed a lobby at FIT as security struggled to hold them.

Protests at Fashion Institute of Technology

There was a chaotic pro-Palestine protest at the Fashion Institute of Technology on Thursday, as college students across the nation continue to challenge the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.

At New York University, police said 133 protesters were taken into custody late Monday. All were released with summonses to appear in court on disorderly conduct charges. New York City Mayor Eric Adams said police officers were hit with bottles and other objects at some of this week’s protests.

In Connecticut, police arrested 48 protesters — four of them not students — Monday at Yale University, after they refused to leave an encampment on a plaza at the center of campus.

Since the Israel-Hamas war began, the U.S. Education Department has launched civil rights investigations into dozens of universities and schools in response to complaints of antisemitism or Islamophobia. Among those under investigation are many colleges facing protests, including Harvard University and Columbia.

With the Associated Press.