New York’s mayor blames ‘outside agitators’ for Columbia University upheaval

Excerpt:

On Wednesday morning, the neighbourhood around the university was quiet after two weeks of drumbeating protests that prompted comparisons to the anti-Vietnam war demonstrations that rocked Columbia in 1968.

The only sign of the previous night’s raid was the military vehicle used by the police to breach the second floor of Hamilton Hall. It was parked across the street from the campus.

Inside the gates, Columbia’s main lawn appeared to have been cleared of the dozens of colourful tents, draped in signs and banners, that formed the “Gaza Solidarity Encampment”.

A student who did not want to be named said he found the occupation of Hamilton Hall to be “disruptive” but the police response “disproportionately” large nonetheless.

Another student said “it was about time” to clear the encampment and that Shafik could have acted earlier to prevent the protests from escalating as much as they did.