Columbia University student protesters issued a statement on Wednesday afternoon claiming that university administration provided a written commitment on Tuesday night to not call in the New York Police Department or the National Guard to break up the encampments after students refused to stay at the negotiating table.
The University's previous threats of an imminent sweep by the NYPD or the National Guard had severed negotiations. The administration's threats backfired when student negotiators refused to stay at the table, as per the statement.
Susan Ellingwood, assistant vice president of public affairs at Columbia, stated earlier on Wednesday that 'deploying the National Guard was never on the table.'
The students' statement was posted on behalf of Columbia University Apartheid Divest, the student group responsible for organizing the original encampment on the East Lawn. The group has also been involved in organizing the West Lawn encampment and negotiating with Columbia's administration.
'Columbia's reliance on the threat of state violence against peaceful protestors has created an unstable ground for the negotiations process which will continue over the next 48 hours. However, Columbia's written commitment and concession not to call the NYPD or the National Guard signifies an important victory for students,' the statement continued.
Student protesters announced plans to hold a news briefing at 2:30 pm ET outside the university's Butler Library.
