Columbia Encampment Echoes Historic Protests of the Past
Columbia University’s administration huffed and puffed on Tuesday night and threatened to blow down the Gaza Solidarity Encampment. A midnight deadline passed to leave or be arrested. And then an 8 a.m. deadline came and went with no action.
The Columbia encampment has dramatized the continuing opposition to Israel’s genocide in Gaza while inspiring college students across the country to set up similar encampments. In this essay, Indypendent Editor-in-Chief John Tarleton looks at how the echoes of three past protest moments — Columbia 1968, the anti-apartheid movement of the 1980s and Occupy Wall Street — echo forward into the present.
Columbia’s 24/7 Gaza Solidarity Protest Brings to Mind Historic Protests from Columbia ‘68 to Occupy Wall Street
By John Tarleton
NYU Encampment Update
New York University’s encampment was dismantled on Monday night, less than 24 hours after it was erected. NYU Arabic Lit Professor Sinan Antoon, who we spoke with beforehand in this video, along with around 20 other faculty members were arrested as they attempted to protect students from the police that night at NYU’s Gould Plaza. The NYPD made around 150 arrests, at least 100 being of student protesters.
Yesterday, more than 1,000 students, faculty and other supporters rallied in Washington Square Park across the street from the NYU campus. Video here.
For more, follow us on Indy Instagram and Indy Twitter.
A Night of Solidarity
Last night we screened The Battle of Algiers at Starr Bar in Bushwick, Brooklyn. Afterward, Indy Associate Editor Amba Guerguerian hosted a powerful conversation with Elaine Mokhtefi and Vijay Prashad. We will be sharing footage from the event in the coming days. The event was a fundraiser for The Indypendent. If you couldn’t be there and want to support all the work we are doing, please visit our donate page.
Two Great Movies Debut Tomorrow at Cinema Village Theater
Our friends at Cinema Libre are debuting two powerful new films starting a week-long run tomorrow at Cinema Village Theater located at 22 East 12th Street. The first, I Am Gitmo, brings to life the horror of the infamous prison camp through the story of a Muslim schoolteacher who is taken from his home and subjected to years of torture even as he professes his innocence. The second, Beyond the Raging Sea, follows two Egyptian athletes as they compete in a 3,000-mile row across the Atlantic Ocean before it takes a harrowing turn that mirrors the ordeal of displaced persons.
Sign up to receive free tickets to Q&A show for I Am Gitmo!
Sign up to receive free tickets to Q&Q Show for Beyond the Raging Sea!