Columbia Community Unites: Faculty, Staff, Students, and Alumni Participate in Day-Long Speakout

Faculty, staff, students, and alumni from Columbia University began holding a 25-hour speak-out on Monday.

They claim their actions are aimed at defending academic freedom, ensuring student safety, and promoting transparency.

The title of the action is "All Day, All Night, All of Us."

A organizer informed CBS News New York that the aim is to build a broader platform to amplify voices from various communities, encompassing students and educators with differing perspectives.

Tenured professors from various departments are leading the demonstrators. The plan allocates one hour for each of the 20 departments participating in the demonstrations.

"There’s an emergency, we’re facing a crisis. The funds have been reduced, particularly those allocated for health and climate initiatives,” stated Susan Witte, a Columbia University professor specializing in social work. “The Board of Trustees has also endorsed certain arrangements which aren’t universally supported, affecting aspects of our educational program.”

A representative from Columbia stated, 'Columbia stands among the top research institutions in the country and provides significant contributions to both our nation and society through groundbreaking discoveries that save lives,'” they noted. “By adhering to the commitments we have made, our university aims to become an even more robust institution devoid of all types of discrimination without compromising our independence and self-governance. We view the input provided by our community positively as we maintain continuous conversations and plan for the university’s upcoming developments.'

Participants will come and go as they share their worries until 1 p.m. on Tuesday.

Columbia stated it would adhere to the set of demands from the Trump administration.

This event follows Columbia's announcement. It would adhere to a series of requirements set forth by the Trump administration to maintain billions in federal financial support. These modifications encompass bringing aboard numerous additional officers equipped with arrest authority, modifying the discipline procedure, and designating a high-ranking executive to oversee initiatives connected to the Israel-Hamas conflict. Teacher unions later filed lawsuits against the Trump administration. , charging it with holding the funds ransom. Following this, the school's interim president at the time, Katrina Armstrong, proceeded resigned, and was succeeded by Claire Shipman, who is also the co-chair of the Board of Trustees during the school's search for a permanent president.

This follows closely after The arrest of well-known pro-Palestinian advocate Mahmoud Khalil , who was apprehended in the lobby of his Columbia University dormitory before being sent to Louisiana , where's he's being held pending the result of his immigration removal process .

The arrest and detainment of Khalil ignited nationwide demonstrations.