(NewsInsights.org)—Protests at Columbia University continued for a fifth day on Sunday, April 21, prompting former police officer and current New York Mayor Eric Adams (D) to condemn hate speech. He accused “professional agitators” of seizing on the unrest to sow further division. The city leader announced that the New York Police Department (NYPD) “will not hesitate” to respond to any legal infractions from protestors.
In his Sunday morning statement, the mayor clarified that NYPD officers could only exert a presence on the Columbia University or Barnard College campuses if senior university officials requested their assistance. However, he instructed the NYPD to increase the number of officers around the campus perimeter to protect students and the public and maintain a ready position to help if requested.
On a personal level, Adams described feeling disgusted and horrified by displays of antisemitism. He didn’t waffle on his position that “hate has no place in our city.” He added that he would not allow the situation to devolve into “a city of lawlessness” and pointed out that nobody has the right to harass, threaten, or physically harm others with whom they disagree.
Responding to the unrest on campus, Columbia President Nemat Shafik announced early on Monday that professors would hold classes virtually to give everyone time to decompress. She also confirmed what student organizers had told local news outlets: Individuals unaffiliated with Columbia had come to the campus to exploit the peaceful student protests and “pursue their own agendas.”
Shafik proposed a plan whereby students and campus administrators might work to resolve the current tensions without involving the NYPD. However, she set a hard boundary against antisemitic rhetoric and any other hate language.
On Sunday, student organizers released a statement through X, formerly Twitter, saying that diverse groups comprise the coalition that is protesting in solidarity against the genocide in Gaza. They believe the media and “a politically motivated mob” have misidentified their members.
As a group, they say they “reject any form of hate or bigotry and stand vigilant against non-students attempting to disrupt the solidarity” students are forging. They include Muslims, Palestinians, Arabs, Blacks, Jews, and pro-Palestinian students and faculty among their coalition.
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