“My number one job is to keep people in this state safe,” Hochul said after the meetings. “And right now, there are many students not feeling safe on campus.”

“I was once a student protester. I protested institutions, I protested governments, I protested against apartheid. But I’ve never seen a level of protest that is so person-to-person, and is so visceral, and I’m now calling on everyone: People need to find their humanity. Have the conversations, talk to each other, understand different points of view — because that’s what college students should be doing.”

University officials condemned the return of the campus encampment.

“Students do not have permission to set up tents on the lawn,” a university spokesperson said in a statement. “Those who do are in violation of long-standing University policy and will be identified and subjected to disciplinary action.”

Columbia has more than doubled the number of guards and supervisors per shift and added private security personnel along the perimeter of campus, university officials announced.

Passover escorts

For students who choose to remain on campus, Columbia is providing escorts to walk students to and from Passover seder and services, according to a memo from the campus Hillel. NYPD will be at the Jewish student life center throughout the eight-day holiday, they said.

“It is unacceptable that I need to send this email in 2024,” Brian Cohen, the Lavine Family executive director of Hillel, wrote to students. “The University continues to fail to enforce its rules, despite escalating antisemitic harassment and around-the-clock protest activity on and around campus.”

While no students have reported incidents of physical harm to the NYPD, there have been reports of flags being taken and hateful rhetoric, cops said Monday at a press conference outside the campus gates.

“We have received reports that Israeli students were walking on campus, had their flags taken away from them, snatched out of their hands,” NYPD Deputy Commissioner Kaz Daughtry said. “We also received reports that the Israel students, there was some hateful things that was said towards them.”

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