(NewsNation) — Khymani James, the most visible face and voice of the pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia University has been banned from the campus.
Columbia spokesperson Robert Hornsby tells NewsNation that James has been banned from the campus, but did not specify whether James has been suspended or expelled.
James has been part of the student group negotiating with Columbia over the protests and encampment. He’s also drawn sharp criticism for a January video in which he was heard saying “Zionists don’t deserve to live.”
Friday morning James apologized for his words, posting on social media: “What I said was wrong. “Every member of our community deserves to feel safe without qualification.”
The news comes as the deadline for Columbia University’s pro-Palestinian protesters to remove their encampment is inching closer.
The university has given students until midnight to take down and move the tents that are on campus grounds, NewsNation affiliate WPIX reported. Students are demanding the school divest holdings tied to Israeli military operations.
The tents were set up Monday night, with more than 100 protesters clashing with police, resulting in arrests.
University President Minouche Shafik issued a statement Wednesday morning, saying, “I very much hope these discussions are successful. If they are not, we will have to consider alternative options for clearing the West Lawn and restoring calm to campus so that students can complete the term and graduate.”
The previous deadline was already extended 48 hours, which student organizers say was a win for them.
“Our negotiation team has committed not to participate in a bargaining process so long as the university attempts to extract concessions by police or military force,” James said. “After forcing students, the majority of whom are Palestinian, black, brown and Jewish students from marginalized backgrounds, to wait in the cold overnight to find out if they would be attacked and arrested by the NYPD or National Guard.”
One of the concerns of Columbia University and the New York Police Department is that non-students on campus participate in the protests.
“Our community guidelines state that people can have entrance into our encampment as long as they’re respecting community guidelines,” James said. “Some of those community guidelines, the most important ones being that we do not allow for any discrimination or bigotry of any kind.”
Protesters say they’ve received written assurances from the school that their encampment will continue.
Protesters also confirmed they were talking and coordinating with students at other universities. They declined to elaborate further.
