(TND) — Police worked to clear an encampment at New York University on Friday after a request by school officials as tensions remain high on campuses across the U.S. with thousands of arrests that sometimes required riot gear and other advanced equipment to deal with tent encampments and occupied buildings.
New York police officials said Friday morning that police were "on-site" after NYU requested their help "to disperse the illegal encampment on their property," according to a post on X by NYPD deputy commissioner of operations Kaz Daughtry. It wasn't immediately clear if any arrests had been made.
New York has been in the spotlight of the breakout of protests and encampments at colleges across the country with law enforcement being called in to deal with them at NYU and Columbia. Earlier this week, over 100 people were arrested during a clear-out by police at Columbia University.
On the West Coast, Portland State University reopened its campus on Friday and began cleaning up damage caused by protesters who occupied its library this week.
Inside the publicly-funded library, there is graffiti all over the walls, windows, and books. Officers showed KATU paint-covered floors, piles of trash, wooden pallets, and tents scattered all over the building.
Over-turned furniture that was used as barricades to slow down officers blocked some walkways and a stairwell. There were also signs pointed to medics, tools, food, and coffee.
Police also found make-shift weapons, including bamboo sticks, and buckets of ball bearings, though none of them were used against officers. Law enforcement also found paint-filled balloons and spray bottles full of ink.
On Friday, Columbia University President Minouche Shafik released a 3-minute videotaped statement addressing students dealing with the aftermath of protests that rocked campus for weeks.
"These past two weeks have been among the most difficult in Columbia's history. The turmoil and tension, division and disruption have impacted the entire community," Shafik began.
Shafik said the students of the school have "paid an especially high price" noting that seniors are finishing college the way they started: online.
She said the school worked hard to resolve the issue of the encampment through many days of communication, and that the university "made a sincere and good offer, but it was not accepted."
Shafik also discussed the protester takeover of Hamilton Hall, which she said "crossed a new line."
An officer accidentally discharged his gun while inside a building where protesters were camped inside at Columbia. Nobody was injured and was trying to turn on the flashlight attached to his gun but accidentally pulled the trigger instead that fired a single round into a frame hanging on the wall, police said.
Students are calling on their schools to separate from companies that have ties to the Israeli government or advancing Israel’s military efforts in Gaza. Students have mostly led the charge, but alums and activists have joined them in some places.
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