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Police clear pro-Palestinian protesters from Columbia University while clashes break out at UCLA (apnews.com)

submitted 6 months ago by IndustryStandard@lemmy.world to c/news@lemmy.world

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NEW YORK (AP) — The pro-Palestinian demonstration that paralyzed Columbia University ended in dramatic fashion, with police carrying riot shields bursting into a building that protesters took over the previous night and making dozens of arrests. On the other side of the country, clashes broke out early Wednesday between dueling groups at the University of California, Los Angeles.

New York City officers entered Columbia’s campus late Tuesday after the university requested help, according to a statement released by a spokesperson. A tent encampment on the school’s grounds was cleared, along with Hamilton Hall where a stream of officers used a ladder to climb through a second-floor window.

Meanwhile, violence broke out at UCLA overnight between pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli protesters. Police wearing face shields formed a line but did not immediately intervene.

The clashes took place just outside a tent encampment, where pro-Palestinian protesters erected barricades and plywood for protection — and counter-protesters tried to pull them down.

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[-] unexposedhazard@discuss.tchncs.de 63 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago)

For anyone interested, one of the last live streams https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FD-ohHo8crg Most of the others went to sleep after the masked israeli agitators left when the cops started moving in.

The camp people did a pretty good job at deescalating but when you have 30+ random masked people trying to tear down your camp, throwing stuff at you and beating up old people trying to deescalate then its tough to stay calm.

Pretty telling tho that police was present for 4+ hours and did nothing while people were getting assaulted. Eventually they will probably attempt to clear the camp under the pretense of violent acts happening, when the only violent people were the ones outside the camp.

[-] IndustryStandard@lemmy.world 58 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago)

The line "violence broke out" struck me as odd. The mention of the violence taking place because Pro Israel protesters were in the Pro Palestine side tearing down barricades came much later in the article. This drastically changes the dynamic of the violence. "Violence breaks out" when a person wearing a keffiyeh defends themselves.

[-] unexposedhazard@discuss.tchncs.de 31 points 6 months ago

Yeah im sure this is gonna get covered by the news in a totally fair and accurate way. /s

[-] IndustryStandard@lemmy.world 5 points 6 months ago

For all us fake-news enjoyers I came across a video of the "violence breaking out" https://twitter.com/TeresaWatanabe/status/1785575610469007471

[-] firadin@lemmy.world 6 points 6 months ago

"Violence" is not an actor, violence does not "break out". It's a phrase used to hide the actors who instigated the violence, either due to a lack of knowledge or due to willful obfuscation. We have videos of what happened, so we know which it is.

[-] SwingingTheLamp@midwest.social 58 points 6 months ago

I saw this article first this morning: Counter-protesters attack pro-Palestinian encampment at UCLA It's local coverage, with a timestamp several hours before articles by national organizations.

Interesting the contrast, isn't it? Also interesting how the police withdraw before the attack, in addition to standing by and letting it happen after they returned.

[-] IndustryStandard@lemmy.world 21 points 6 months ago

These two videos really tell the whole story

https://twitter.com/TeresaWatanabe/status/1785575610469007471

https://twitter.com/whoknows197563/status/1785586304354283932

[-] Audacious@sh.itjust.works 13 points 6 months ago

Are there non-twitter links?

[-] IndustryStandard@lemmy.world 14 points 6 months ago

Here are two mirrors

Video 1 https://files.catbox.moe/73j5b3.mp4

Video 2 https://files.catbox.moe/u7hicb.mp4

[-] Audacious@sh.itjust.works 2 points 6 months ago

Ty!

[-] RememberTheApollo_@lemmy.world 49 points 6 months ago

police burst into a building at Columbia University that pro-Palestinian protesters took over

Really? The protesters should have brought a bunch of guns. Then the cops would have brought them pizza and eventually let them go free.

[-] borari@lemmy.dbzer0.com 23 points 6 months ago

Unironically, yes. These peaceful protests will probably not achieve any material change.

http://libgen.rs/search.php?req=the+failure+of+nonviolence&lg_topic=libgen&open=0&view=simple&res=25&phrase=1&column=def

[-] firadin@lemmy.world 22 points 6 months ago

There's a reason the Black Panthers were armed when they distributed free food to poor black children.

[-] xmunk@sh.itjust.works 45 points 6 months ago

Just remember... the administration of Brown University opened a dialog about divestment (to my knowledge they haven't committed to anything yet) and somehow, magically, they aren't having these problems.

Universities serve their students, it isn't the other way around.

[-] big_slap@lemmy.world 4 points 6 months ago

am I missing something here? I am so confused about everything that's going on. columbia has been divesting for years now, here is the page:

https://www.columbia.edu/content/financial-overview

[-] grrgyle@slrpnk.net 5 points 6 months ago

I gave it a skim but I'm not sure what I'm looking for. What section are you pointing to here?

[-] big_slap@lemmy.world 4 points 6 months ago

there are two pages in particular that discuss divestment. the notable investments policies page that can be accessed here: https://www.finance.columbia.edu/content/relevant-investment-policies

the other one I spotted was under the social responsible investing dropdown, which details how to submit requests in order to divest: https://www.finance.columbia.edu/content/proposal-submission-guidelines

I am very confused with this whole situation. I feel this protest shouldn't have gotten out of hand like it did because there are channels to properly divest.

am I missing a crucial part of why events played out like it did?

[-] djsoren19@yiffit.net 12 points 6 months ago

Yeah, the part where Columbia students submitted an official request to divest in December 2023. These protests started after the administration refused to respond at all to their request for over 4 months.

[-] big_slap@lemmy.world 7 points 6 months ago

I found the exact page you're talking about, I think: https://www.finance.columbia.edu/sites/default/files/content/ACSRI/12.1.2023%20CUAD%20ACSRI%20Divestment%20Proposal.pdf

THIS is the missing piece to the story for me, thanks!! although I can't find where this was rejected, can you?

[-] djsoren19@yiffit.net 12 points 6 months ago

It hasn't been formally rejected because it hasn't even been formally recognized. Columbia's basically pretending the request to divest never happened, which is why you haven't heard anything about it in the news. The only reason I'm aware is that I've had the pleasure of talking to some of the brave students on the ground.

[-] big_slap@lemmy.world 5 points 6 months ago

thanks

[-] WldFyre@lemm.ee 1 points 6 months ago

Didn't Columbia offer the same deal to their students as Brown did? And they rejected it?

[-] TheBananaKing@lemmy.world 4 points 6 months ago

Can you say Tianenmen Square?

[-] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 23 points 6 months ago

What happened here is horrible, but hyperbole is not helpful. Hundreds of people were murdered by the Chinese military in Tianenmen Square. Let's hope for everyone's sake that it doesn't end up like that. People are already being murdered by the thousands in Palestine.

[-] thedirtyknapkin@lemmy.world 17 points 6 months ago

you're right, this is more like the 1968 Columbia protests. you know, the one where they put flowers in the barrels of the rifles.

America has its own long and storied history of killing protestors and strikers. we don't need to look anywhere else for analogies.

[-] theareciboincident@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 6 months ago

Believe it or not, the Tiananmen Square massacre was part of a power struggle between reformist and authoritarian factions of the CCP.

Per diplomatic cables from multiple observers, regular army units refused to supply the rural units brought in for the massacre and even threatened to open fire if they didn’t leave.

You can guess who won the power struggle but the point is, things are in an even worse place in the US and liberals couldn’t give less of a shit while conservative leaders openly call for Kentanamen State Square 2.

There’s no reformist party or power struggle, it’s literally just the entire US government vs the people.

It is time for the tree of liberty to be watered.

[+] neonred@lemmy.world -6 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago)

So, let me get this straight. I will make a list of things I do not understand and I hope you can clear these points up to me. Please reference them in your reply so I understand to which of these points you are referring to.

Some activists assemble in front of an university.
They are enraged about a political situation on the other side of the world.
That involved countries there have nothing to do with either the University or the country they are now protesting in.
They set up camp.
They break up doors and enter the University's rooms with force.
They destroy property within the University.
The University watches and endures this for several days.
Finally, after financial and other losses, the University calls Police to end all this.
The protest was neither registered nor was is coordinated; no spokesperson or head was named or is available.
Police was shouted at, attacked, and met with overall and disproportionate anger, hostility and force.
What exacty has this whole action brought to the initial intention of the protesters? Did they reach their goals or got closer to these?

I am exposing myself here because I do not understand the situation and am wondering why everybody is wondering the Police had to mop this up.

[-] Zron@lemmy.world 16 points 6 months ago

Point 3: the university provides funding to weapons manufacturers that are selling weapon systems to the IDF, the protesters very clearly stated they wanted this funding to stop. The US is also very clearly involved in this conflict, as they are a primary supplier of arms and equipment to the IDF, and the government has vetoed or abstained from every UN vote to do something about the Gaza situation.

[-] big_slap@lemmy.world -1 points 6 months ago

Point 3: the university provides funding to weapons manufacturers that are selling weapon systems to the IDF

source? columbia university outlines their investments and they do not state this point at all

https://www.columbia.edu/content/financial-overview

[-] Corkyskog@sh.itjust.works 4 points 6 months ago

LOL. Columbia absolutely does not outline their investments, they just name a managing organization.

One of the protest demands is literally for transparency because their investments are not public.

[-] big_slap@lemmy.world 2 points 6 months ago

when you say not outlining their assets, do you mean not delivering a financial statement? cause here is the page for them: https://www.finance.columbia.edu/content/columbia-university-financial-reports

and here is the file directly leading to their most recent financials, which does talk about their assets (45 pages): https://www.finance.columbia.edu/sites/default/files/content/Finance%20Documents/Financial%20Reports/Columbia%20University%20FY23%20Financials%20Signed[9].pdf

[-] Corkyskog@sh.itjust.works 1 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago)

So the bottom link leads to a broken page for me. The other links I have browsed the PDF and couldn't find anything that lists specific investments.

Which PDF lists what their investments are?

[-] theareciboincident@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago)

The answer is, it doesn’t. Just like the public financial statements of other companies, it’s a standard format report. They think you’re a moron and are treating you like one by saying “loOk at My PdF”.

The person trying to “debate” you is just yet another Zionist playing disingenuous game of moving goalposts and confusing the dialogue.

The demands are clear. Divest from the MIC members whose arms enable genocide. The president of the university said no, and protests started.

[-] Jakeroxs@sh.itjust.works 1 points 6 months ago

A little later in a different thread it seems like they understand now.

this post was submitted on 01 May 2024

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