{"id":2231177,"date":"2024-04-26T17:43:02","date_gmt":"2024-04-26T21:43:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/columbia-student-protesters-demand-an-apology-from-president-shafik-we-believe-that-its-on-the-table\/"},"modified":"2024-04-26T17:46:35","modified_gmt":"2024-04-26T21:46:35","slug":"columbia-student-protesters-demand-an-apology-from-president-shafik-we-believe-that-its-on-the-table","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/columbia-student-protesters-demand-an-apology-from-president-shafik-we-believe-that-its-on-the-table\/","title":{"rendered":"Columbia Students Demand Apology from President Shafik: &#8216;We Consider it a Possibility"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fcolumbia-student-protesters-demand-an-apology-from-president-shafik-we-believe-that-its-on-the-table%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2231177&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The\u200d Columbia University &#8220;Gaza Solidarity&#8221; tent encampment demands an apology letter from President\u200d Shafik. Student\u2064 negotiator Mahmoud\u2064 Khalil emphasizes it as a demand, not an expectation. The encampment, ongoing for over a\u2064 week, \u2063seeks acknowledgment of campus damage. Negotiations regarding the language and content \u2062of the apology \u2063are underway, shaping the future of the protest. The Columbia University &#8220;Gaza Solidarity&#8221; tent encampment\u200d demands an apology letter from President Shafik. Student negotiator Mahmoud Khalil emphasizes it as \u200da demand, not an expectation. The encampment, ongoing for over\u200b a week, seeks acknowledgment\u200c of campus damage. Negotiations\u200c concerning the apology&#8217;s language and content are in progress, influencing the protest&#8217;s trajectory.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<h2>&#8216;It&#8217;s not an expectation, it&#8217;s a demand,&#8217; says student negotiator Mahmoud Khalil<\/h2>\n<figure><figcaption> \t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t(Stephanie Keith\/Getty Images)\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>MANHATTAN\u2014Student leaders behind the Columbia University &#8220;Gaza Solidarity&#8221; tent encampment revealed a new demand in their negotiations with school officials: an apology letter from president Minouche Shafik, which they say is &#8220;on the table&#8221; as they remain in the encampment more than a week after launching it.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;This is the right thing for the university president to do. It&#8217;s not an expectation, it&#8217;s a demand, and we believe that it&#8217;s on the table,&#8221; said Mahmoud Khalil, an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/u-c-berkeley-advised-chinese-government-on-economic-decisions\/\" title=\"U.C. Berkeley Advised Chinese Government on Economic Decisions\">international student<\/a> who is leading negotiations with the school on behalf of Columbia University Apartheid Divest.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Now, we are in negotiation about the language of that letter \u2026 to actually apologize to the Columbia community, not necessarily for the pro-Palestine community, but about the damage that has been done here on campus.&#8221;<\/p>\n<blockquote data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Student organizers demand president Shafik apologize for &#8216;the damage that has been done here on campus.&#8221; <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/jt8HqwwOL6\">pic.twitter.com\/jt8HqwwOL6<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Jessica Costescu (@JessicaCostescu) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/JessicaCostescu\/status\/1783962618589282418?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">April 26, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Such an apology from Shafik would mark a stunning turnaround roughly 10 days after she testified before Congress on campus anti-Semitism. Shafik pledged to take action to combat the issue and condemned chants such as, &#8220;From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,&#8221; as well as calls for &#8220;intifada,&#8221; which students have espoused from the encampment.<\/p>\n<blockquote data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">&#8216;There is only one solution. Intifada revolution.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;Long live the intifada.&#8221; <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/BynAcaf3wG\">pic.twitter.com\/BynAcaf3wG<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Jessica Costescu (@JessicaCostescu) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/JessicaCostescu\/status\/1783683783218155767?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">April 26, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>As she testified, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/french-schoolgirl-admits-lying-about-teacher-who-was-murdered-for-showing-class-muhammed-cartoons\/\" title=\"French Schoolgirl Admits Lying About Teacher Who Was Murdered For Showing Class Muhammed Cartoons\">student protesters<\/a> assembled the unauthorized encampment that has plagued the school ever since. While Shafik sent in New York City police to arrest participants shortly thereafter, students quickly rebuilt the encampment. Shafik has thus far declined to bring police to campus again.<\/p>\n<p>Khalil revealed the demand for Shafik to apologize during a Friday afternoon press conference, which came roughly 12 hours after Shafik&#8217;s deadline to clear the encampment <a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/campus\/columbia-lets-48-hour-deadline-slide-with-no-action-against-student-protesters\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">came and went without incident<\/a>. Khalil said he is now engaged in &#8220;open negotiation&#8221; with the university with no looming deadline.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The 48 hour period is now off the table, and it&#8217;s an open negotiation with the university?&#8221; a reporter asked Khalil. &#8220;Exactly. Now we are in an open negotiation with the administration,&#8221; he replied. &#8220;Again, we don&#8217;t trust this university to uphold its word.&#8221;<\/p>\n<blockquote data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">48-hour deadline is off the table: &#8216;Now we are in an open negotiation with the administration.&#8221; <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/p5CzvIQiBV\">pic.twitter.com\/p5CzvIQiBV<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Jessica Costescu (@JessicaCostescu) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/JessicaCostescu\/status\/1783963588215906664?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">April 26, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>With no deadline, it&#8217;s unclear how or when the encampment will end. Columbia officials have repeatedly denied claims that they&#8217;ve <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/citing-anti-second-amendment-climate-smith-and-wesson-will-move-headquarters-from-massachusetts-to-tennessee\/\" title=\"Citing Anti-Second Amendment Climate, Smith And Wesson Will Move Headquarters From Massachusetts To Tennessee\">authorized law enforcement<\/a> to come back to campus, though Khalil said the school has given no assurances that they will refrain from doing so in the future.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;As of now there are no assurances from the university that no NYPD or any other law enforcement, including the National Guard, will be brought into the university.&#8221;<\/p>\n<blockquote data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">&#8220;As of now there are no assurances from the university that no NYPD or any other law enforcement, including the National Guard, will be brought into the university.&#8221; <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/V1guR00Nea\">pic.twitter.com\/V1guR00Nea<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Jessica Costescu (@JessicaCostescu) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/JessicaCostescu\/status\/1783964467576848489?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">April 26, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>The conclusion could depend on Columbia&#8217;s willingness to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2024\/apr\/25\/divestment-israel-college-protests\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">divest from companies<\/a> that do business with Israel, including corporate giants such as Amazon, Google, and Microsoft. Khalil said divestment negotiations are at an &#8220;impasse.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Since we returned to the table yesterday, we made progress with the university. It&#8217;s not a significant progress,&#8221; Khalil said. &#8220;In some areas regarding the statement of the president, there is some progress.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;However, our main demand\u2014divestment from the Israeli occupation\u2014there&#8217;s an impasse in that one particular demand.&#8221;<\/p>\n<blockquote data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Negotiations are at an &#8216;impasse,&#8221; with very little progress made. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/nGDlMO1WFQ\">pic.twitter.com\/nGDlMO1WFQ<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Jessica Costescu (@JessicaCostescu) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/JessicaCostescu\/status\/1783965225324048489?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">April 26, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Columbia University did not respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n<p>As open negotiations continue, Khalil assured Shafik that the student protesters will not back down.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;When they tried to clear it last week, we prevailed,&#8221; Khalil said. &#8220;If they want to once again bring NYPD or any law enforcement, we will prevail.&#8221;<\/p>\n<blockquote data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">&#8220;When they tried to clear it last week (the encampment,) we prevailed \u2026 If they want to once again bring NYPD or any law enforcement, we will prevail.&#8221; <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/nqQXHE1YRL\">pic.twitter.com\/nqQXHE1YRL<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Jessica Costescu (@JessicaCostescu) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/JessicaCostescu\/status\/1783966004122439955?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">April 26, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Organizers were also asked about undergraduate Khymani James\u2014a protest leader who has <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/CampusJewHate\/status\/1783559288071319650\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">called<\/a> for the death of &#8220;Zionists&#8221;\u2014but referred reporters to Columbia University Apartheid Divest&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/C6OjM0KOfcC\/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&#038;igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">statement<\/a> on the matter.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Khymani\u2019s words in January do not reflect his views, our values, nor the encampment\u2019s community agreements,&#8221; the group said. &#8220;We are students with a right to learn and grow. In the same way some of us were once Zionists and are now anti-Zionists, we believe unlearning is always possible and that no human being is static.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Student negotiator Mahmoud Khalil stated firmly, &#8220;It&#8217;s a demand, not an expectation.&#8221; Student leaders at Columbia University&#8217;s &#8220;Gaza Solidarity&#8221; tent encampment push for an apology letter from President Minouche Shafik. The demand remains under negotiation as they continue their encampment in Manhattan (Stephanie Keith\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2360,"featured_media":2231178,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/pro-palestinian-protests-continue-at-columbia-university-in-new-york-c-2-1-scaled-e1714082389914.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[544],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2231177","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-free-beacon"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/pro-palestinian-protests-continue-at-columbia-university-in-new-york-c-2-1-scaled-e1714082389914.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2231177","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2360"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2231177"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2231177\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2231178"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2231177"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2231177"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2231177"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}