Students were suspended for not vacating the protest camps by the given deadline|@ColumbiaSJP|X

Columbia University suspended pro-Palestinian student activists on Monday for refusing to dismantle protest encampments on its NYC campus by the 2 p.m. deadline. The move came after a stalemate in talks to end the demonstrations.

Students vacating the protest camps and agreeing to identify themselves were permitted to finish the semester, said the university president, Nemat Shafik.

Not just Columbia
The crackdown at Columbia coincided with a similar incident at the University of Texas at Austin, where police arrested numerous students during a pro-Palestinian rally.

Student confrontations with the police have sparked legal battles, with lawsuits alleging breaches of contract and civil rights violations.