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The president’s decision raised tensions on campus with students vowing to remain no matter the consequences.
In her campus-wide email on Tuesday, Ms Shafix stated that one of the main motivations for clearing the lawn was so that graduation, scheduled to take place on the lawn on May 15, could go ahead as normal.
“I am deeply sensitive to the fact that graduating seniors spent their first year attending Columbia remotely. We all very much want these students to celebrate their well-deserved graduation with family and friends,” she stated in the email.
Ms Shafix acknowledged the ongoing conversations between the protesters and University administration in her emails and stated that she fully supports “the importance of free speech, respects the right to demonstrate, and recognises that many of the protesters have gathered peacefully”.
On Monday, a Jewish professor accused staff at the university of being “scared” to stand up to pro-Palestinian protesters after he was denied entry to campus over safety concerns.
Shai Davidai, an assistant business professor, claimed his keycard to enter the main campus was deactivated by university authorities when he tried to hold a “stand up to terrorism” counter-protest on Monday.
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