Administrators at Columbia University have announced that the school will not use the New York Police Department to clear anti-Israel protesters out of the campus.
The students were allegedly given a deadline of Tuesday night at midnight to come to an agreement with the administration, but the deadline was pushed back to 8:00 AM on Wednesday morning.
The deadline was extended to Friday, with the university now backing out completely.
”We have our demands; they have theirs,” Columbia said. “The talks have shown progress and are continuing as planned,” the university went on to say before adding that “a formal process is underway and continues.”
“For several days, a small group of faculty, administrators, and university senators have been in dialogue with student organizers to discuss the basis for dismantling the encampment, dispersing, and following university policies going forward,” the update from the university explained.
Earlier this week, billionaire and CEO of the New England Patriots Robert Kraft declared that he is pulling his donations to Columbia University due to the ongoing anti-Israel protests occurring on campus.
Kraft said in a statement, “The school I love so much—the one that welcomed me and provided me with so much opportunity—is no longer an institution I recognize.”
He noted he was “deeply saddened by the virulent hate” present on the university’s campus.
“I am no longer confident that Columbia can protect its students and staff and I am not comfortable supporting the university until corrective action is taken,” Kraft added. “It is my hope that Columbia and its leadership will stand up to this hate by ending these protests immediately and will work to earn back the respect and trust of the many of us who have lost faith in the institution.”