University campus protests encapsulate a moment of febrile divisiveness where nuance is too often lost
In the fog of a time which feels deeply discombobulating for so many groups of people, it’s vital to see and hear what’s going on up close.
It’s a fearful time for many. Positions are entrenched, views are polarised and emotions are very high.
And in that environment, issues can be conflated, judgements can be rash and deeply complex issues can be condensed to their simplest, most digestible form.
There are a multitude of prisms through which people see things. Nuance is too often lost.
Columbia University on New York City’s upper west side is one of America’s most prestigious institutions.
It’s one of a number of Ivy League schools where protests against Israel’s war in Gaza have become a national issue confounding the police and splintering the politicians.
Those who look for nuance end up tied in knots as they seek balance.
“I condemn the antisemitic protests…” President Biden said in his latest comments on the growing movement, adding: “I also condemn those who don’t understand what’s going on with the Palestinians, and their, how they’re being…”
He failed to finish his sentence. There is an election coming. Being unequivocal, either way, isn’t an option.
From a surface level, some have concluded that all the student protesters are antisemitic terrorist sympathisers and/or all the vocal counter-protesters are genocide-condoning colonialist monsters. Of course neither is true.
What I saw from my albeit limited, allotted time on the Columbia campus was a spectrum.
Pro-Palestinian protesters have created an encampment in the quadrangle of Columbia University
Hollywood star blasts ‘lowlife scumbags’
There was the young Lebanese-American woman who wouldn’t bring herself to condemn Hamas. There was the young American man who just wanted “the genocide to end”.
There was the British professor of Middle Eastern history who sought to provide the context of a conflict stretching back so many years. And there were Jewish students whose message for Israel was “not in my name”.
The thrust of their demands was for the university to cut all links with Israel and to divest financially.
At a time when definitions are condensed, their views would, by some but not all, be interpreted as antisemitic or, in the case of the Jewish students, self-hating.
One Jewish-American politician, Bruce Blakeman, speaking on the street outside the campus, declared angrily: “They are traitors.”
Alongside him was actor and comedian Michael Rapaport who described the campus encampment protesters as: “bullies, cowards, and pathetic lowlife scumbags”.
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Hollywood actor Michael Rapaport joined pro-Israel demonstrations outside the university
University president warns of ‘clear and present’ danger
It is a deeply depressing statement of fact that some Jewish students and professors do not feel safe on their own campuses.
Shai Davidai, an assistant professor at Columbia Business School, wrote on X: “Earlier today, Columbia University refused to let me onto campus. Why? Because they cannot protect my safety as a Jewish professor. This is 1938.”
We are at another moment of febrile divisiveness and division where extremes are amplified and fear is visceral.
Slogans are interpreted as genocidal and they are compounded by the violent threats of a minority.
What was my campus takeaway, as an observer with no alliances but also no visual identifier – a kippah or a keffiyeh – to attract the potential ire of one side or the other?
Well, the prevailing vibe within my snapshot of the campus spectrum, which by definition has its extremes, was one of tolerance, with a call for an end to all killing and to occupation.
It did not chime with the way the university president had framed the situation just days ago: “A clear and present danger to the substantial functioning of the university.”
Pro-Israel demonstrators in New York
President Minouche Shafik, who is British-American-Egyptian and a member of the UK House of Lords, chose to call in the police last week to tackle the growing protest movement.
She had, the Associated Press reported, “focused her message on fighting antisemitism rather than protecting free speech”.
The thorny line between free speech and hate speech is a judgment so often left to the police.
It’s important to note that the police chief overseeing the Columbia arrests last week later said: “The students that were arrested were peaceful, offered no resistance whatsoever, and were saying what they wanted to say in a peaceful manner.”
Pro-Palestinian demonstrators outside Columbia University
Yet, in this febrile and condensed moment, they can be all of those things and, to the beholder, be antisemitic too.
At the heart of all this is the challenge of how to moderate the conversation; how to keep it moderate, when that now seems to be so open to interpretation.
As I write, news is emerging of more arrests, this time at another of the city’s universities, NYU. It is prompting angry reactions.
“NYU’s administration tonight joined the shameful list of US universities that called the police to arrest their own students and faculty for protesting against an ongoing genocide”, NYU professor Mohamad Bazzi posted on X.
Clara Weiss, the National Secretary of IYSSE, a student social equality movement wrote: “The Biden admin and the Democratic admin of NY and NYC have all backed a state crackdown but protests against the #Gazagenocide continue to grow and expand.”
NYPD Deputy Commissioner Michael Gerber has spoken of the challenges in policing such demonstrations
I asked NYPD Deputy Commissioner Michael Gerber to characterise the challenge.
“It’s a great and important question,” he said.
“Determining when something goes from protected speech to unprotected speech can be very context specific; can require a lot of nuance. And you’re right, you have to make calls on a daily basis, making judgment calls. We’re doing it to the very best of our ability. [The] stakes are high, there’s no question about that.”
It is, then, a balance between respecting free speech and restricting it.
It’s about finding the right tools to allow for a sober, objective deciphering of the red line which lies between free speech and hate speech.
World number one golfer Scottie Scheffler says he was “rattled” and “in shock” after he was arrested and charged by police this morning.
The 27-year-old reportedly tried to get around a traffic jam caused by a fatal accident near the Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky, at around 6am local time (11am UK time) on Friday.
He is due to appear in court on Tuesday after being charged with second-degree assault of a police officer, third-degree criminal mischief, reckless driving, and disregarding signals from officers directing traffic.
Scheffler was released at 8:40am local time (1:40pm UK time) and allowed to return to the golf course to play his second round of the PGA Championship, where he currently sits three shots off the lead.
Speaking to reporters after his round, Scheffler said: “It was a chaotic situation and a big misunderstanding. My head is still spinning.
“I spent some time warming up in a jail cell, which was a first for me.
“I was pretty rattled, to say the least… I was never angry, I was just in shock. I was shaking for about an hour.
“Coming out here and trying to play today was definitely a challenge, but I did my best to control my mind and control my breathing… just try to play golf.
“I knew there was going to be a lot of distractions… but to be honest, it was great having the fans behind me. I felt they were really glad to have me out here competing today.”
Police earlier released a mugshot taken of Scheffler while he was wearing an orange jailed-issued jumpsuit.
The fatal crash occurred this morning when a bus struck and killed a man as he was crossing the road near the front gate of the Valhalla Golf Club.
Scottie Scheffler tees off hours after being detained and handcuffed. Pic: AP
Tournament officials said they were “devastated” by the death of local man John Mills, who was working for an on-site vendor at Valhalla.
Scheffler, who was not involved in the accident, was allegedly trying to drive around the crash site when he failed to stop for a police officer.
An officer is then said to have grabbed on to Scheffler’s car.
The golfer drove around 10 to 20 yards before stopping his vehicle at the entrance to Valhalla, according to an ESPN reporter Jeff Darlington who was on the scene.
Darlington said: “At that point the police officer instructed Scheffler to get out of the car.
“He rolled down the window, the police officer grabbed his arm and started pulling at it. He reached inside, opened the car door, pulled Scheffler out, pushed him up against the car, immediately placed him in handcuffs.”
According to the police report, a detective stopped Scheffler’s car and “attempted to give instruction”.
The report continued: “Subject refused to comply and accelerated forward, dragging Detective Gillis to the ground. Detective Gillis suffered pain, swelling and abrasions to his left wrist and knees.
“He was transported to the hospital for further medical treatment by emergency medical personnel. Detective Gillis’ uniform pants, valued at approximately $80, were damaged beyond repair.”
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Scottie Scheffler was given a roar of support as he teed off in the second round. Pic: AP
In a statement, Scheffler’s attorney Steve Romines said the player was proceeding as directed by a traffic officer and is alleged to have disregarded signals from another officer “in the confusion”.
“Multiple eyewitnesses have confirmed that he did not do anything wrong but was simply proceeding as directed,” the statement added.
“He stopped immediately upon being directed to and never at any point assaulted any officer with his vehicle. We will litigate this matter as needed.”
Speaking after a second round, Scheffler expressed his sympathies to the family of Mr Mills.
“I can’t imagine what they’re going through this morning,” Scheffler said.
“My situation will get handled… I can’t get into what transpired… my heart goes out to the family.”
“Gut-wrenching” CCTV footage which appears to show Sean Combs attacking singer Cassie in a Los Angeles hotel “has only further confirmed the disturbing and predatory behaviour” of the rapper, her lawyer has said.
The 54-year-old, whose homes in Los Angeles and Miami were raided by Homeland Security Investigations agents in March, has faced a series of public allegations of physical and sexual violence.
Footage obtained by CNN appears to show Combs – also known as P Diddy and Puff Daddy – wearing only a white towel as he punches and kicks Cassie in a Los Angeles hotel hallway on 5 March 2016.
The R&B singer, whose legal name is Cassandra Ventura, was his protege and girlfriend at the time.
Read more: What is Sean Combs accused of and what has he said?
The footage also shows Combs shoving and dragging her across the floor, as well as throwing a vase in her direction.
It closely resembles the description of an incident at the now-closed InterContinental Hotel in Los Angeles described in a lawsuit filed by Cassie in November that alleged years of sexual abuse and other violence from Combs.
The case was settled the day after it was filed.
Several more lawsuits were filed in the following months, along with a federal criminal sex-trafficking investigation that led authorities to raid Combs’ mansions in Los Angeles and Miami.
Representatives for Combs did not immediately comment on the video. He has previously denied the allegations in the lawsuits and his lawyers have said he denies any wrongdoing.
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P Diddy’s homes raided
Cassie’s lawyer said: “The gut-wrenching video has only further confirmed the disturbing and predatory behaviour of Mr Combs.
“Words cannot express the courage and fortitude that Ms Ventura has shown in coming forward to bring this to light.”
According to NBC News, Sky News’ US partner, if Cassie were to make a complaint the LAPD could investigate, but charges would likely be declined by the district attorney because California law has a one-year statute of limitations for assault and the alleged incident happened nearly eight years ago.
CNN did not say how it obtained the video, but noted it verified the location it was shot by comparing the footage to publicly available images of the InterContinental Hotel.
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