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The sudden end to the standoff produced cheers from the protesters, and confusion for those who had been bracing for chaos. At Emory University in Atlanta, officers used pepper balls and wrestled protesters to the ground, ultimately arresting 28 people. On quads and lawns from coast to coast, colleges are grappling with a groundswell of student activism over Israel’s ongoing military campaign in Gaza. Administrators are having to make controversial decisions over whether to call in the police, and are often criticized regardless of the route they take. “They don’t seem to have a clear strategy,” said Jennie Stephens, a professor at Northeastern who attended the protest there to support the students.

Persons: ”, Jennie Stephens, “ Organizations: Boston, University of Southern, Emerson College, Ohio State University, At Emory University, Northeastern Locations: Northeastern University’s, University of Southern California, Boston, Atlanta, Gaza

Police officers swept onto the ordinarily serene campus of Emory University in Atlanta after demonstrators erected tents on Thursday morning, leading to the latest clash in a pro-Palestinian protest movement that has cascaded across American campuses this week. As the demonstrators at Emory screamed, officers wrestled with protesters on the ground and escorted others away. From a few dozen yards away, onlookers stared and recorded the scene with their cellphones. The authorities did not immediately say how many people had been arrested in Atlanta, but across the country, more than 400 protesters have been taken into police custody since April 18, when the arrests of more than 100 protesters at Columbia University in New York set off a wave of student activism nationwide. University administrators and law enforcement officials have responded by arresting students, removing encampments and threatening academic consequences as some Jewish students have expressed concern for their safety, and some politicians have demanded a crackdown on the growing demonstrations.

Organizations: Emory University, Emory, Columbia University, University Locations: Atlanta, New York

Nemat Shafik, Columbia University’s besieged president, faced skeptics on Wednesday in a meeting with the university senate that could vote to censure her over her handling of protests on the Upper Manhattan campus. If Dr. Shafik ultimately remains atop Columbia, her meeting with the university senate made plain that it will likely be as a scarred figure. Dr. Shafik defended her choice to summon the New York authorities to campus, according to three people who attended the meeting at the law school. She said she believed, though, that it was necessary for the safety of protesting students. The group could vote on a censure as soon as Friday, but some senators were discussing the possibility of pursuing a more moderate course in the aftermath of Wednesday’s meeting.

Persons: Nemat Shafik, Columbia University’s, Shafik, Mike Johnson Organizations: Columbia, New Locations: Columbia, Manhattan, New York

Dr. Shafik herself was preparing to confer with the university senate, which could censure her as soon as Friday. On Monday, police were called in to make dozens of arrests at Yale and New York University. Mr. Johnson’s visit to campus will not include a meeting with Dr. Shafik. The university senate could vote on a resolution to censure Dr. Shafik as soon as Friday — not long after the 48-hour negotiation period concludes. By calling in the police anyway, the resolution said, Dr. Shafik had endangered both the welfare and the futures of the arrested students.

Persons: Mike Johnson, Nemat Shafik, Shafik, Kathy Hochul, Emerson, Johnson’s, Columbia, —, “, ” Brendan O’Flaherty, Grayson, Kirk’s, Dr, O’Flaherty, Shafik’s, Liset Cruz, Eryn Davis, Annie Karni, Santul Nerkar, Katherine Rosman, Karla Marie Sanford, Ed Shanahan Organizations: Columbia University, New York Police Department, National Guard, Gov, Guard, Yale, New York University, Tufts, University of California, Hamas, New York City Police, Johnson’s, Republicans Locations: York, Gaza, Berkeley, Israel, ”, Washington, Columbia, New

covers the U.S. intelligence agencies and international security matters for The Times. He has written about security issues for more than two decades.

Organizations: The Times

☆ Universities Struggle as Pro-Palestinian Demonstrations Grow
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-22 | by ( Alan Blinder | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

At New York University, the police swept in to arrest protesting students on Monday night, ending a standoff with the school’s administration. At Yale, the police placed protesters’ wrists into zip ties on Monday morning and escorted them onto campus shuttles to receive summonses for trespassing. Columbia kept its classroom doors closed on Monday, moving lectures online and urging students to stay home. Nearby, at campuses like Tufts and Emerson, administrators weighed how to handle encampments that looked much like the one that the police dismantled at Columbia last week — which protesters quickly resurrected. And on the West Coast, a new encampment bubbled at the University of California, Berkeley.

Organizations: New York University, Yale, Columbia, Harvard Yard, Tufts, Emerson, University of California Locations: West Coast, Berkeley

☆ Live Updates: Yale Students Arrested as Campus Chaos Spreads
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-22 | by ( Alan Blinder | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +11 min

Some reportedly shouted at Jewish students and made antisemitic statements. Still, some Jewish students who are supporting the pro-Palestinian demonstrations on campus said they felt solidarity, not a sense of danger, even as they denounced the acts of antisemitism. Image Grant Miner, a Jewish graduate student at Columbia University, says he doesn’t feel unsafe on campus. Jewish students get harassed trying to leave @Columbia’s campus tonight. Image At the “Gaza Solidarity Encampment” on the Columbia campus, tents were crowded together Sunday night.

Persons: Eric Adams, ” Andrew Bates, Nemat Shafik, Minouche, “ Al, Adams, Grant Miner, Bing Guan, New York Times “, “, U2Ii5GTuLm — David lederer, @Davidlederer6, ”, Eliana Goldin, Aryeh, . Goldin, Samantha Slater, Shafik, Mr, Miner, ” Makayla, Gubbay, —, “ There’s, ” Ms, Elie Buechler, Rabbi Buechler, Hillel, ” Brian Cohen, Noah Levine, “ I’m, Xavier Westergaard, Sharon Otterman Organizations: Columbia, Jewish, White, New, ”, Columbia University, Credit, New York Times, Palestinian, Israel, University, New York Police Department, Barnard College, Gaza Solidarity, New York Times Students, Ivy League, Campus, “, Hillel, Broadway, Jewish Voice, Peace Locations: Upper Manhattan, New York City, American, Israel, Columbia, Poland, @Columbia’s, Europe, Chabad, Gaza, Palestine, Amsterdam

☆ What We Know About the Protests at Columbia University
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-22 | by ( Alan Blinder | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Columbia University is grappling with the fallout from its president’s promise to Congress that she would crack down on unsanctioned protests, and her decision to ask the police to clear an encampment on campus, resulting in the arrests of more than 100 students earlier this month. Protests on campus have endured and escalated, with demonstrators seizing Hamilton Hall early Tuesday. The university, which had already limited access to its campus in Upper Manhattan, said Tuesday that it would allow only students who live in one of seven dorms on campus or employees who provide essential services through its gates. A fraught round of protests has rocked the university for nearly two weeks, with demonstrators building (and rebuilding) an encampment, recriminations over the summoning of the police to campus on April 18, and accusations that Columbia has effectively allowed protesters, in some instances, to celebrate Hamas and target Jewish students for intimidation. Last week, the university started offering hybrid classes, an acknowledgment that the disputes at the center of campus tension were unlikely to be resolved before the end of the school year.

Organizations: Columbia University, Hamilton Hall Locations: Upper Manhattan, Columbia

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology, New York University and Brown University have recently taken swift and decisive action against student protesters, including making arrests. And on Thursday, Columbia University hit its limit with student protesters who had set up dozens of tents on campus, sending in the New York Police Department to make arrests. Image At Columbia, officials cracked down on students who had erected tents on campus. Muncy for The New York TimesImage The New York Police Department arrested protesters at Columbia University. “But now we’re seeing that as an immediate response.”In her congressional testimony, Dr. Shafik revealed that 15 Columbia students have been suspended in recent weeks.

Persons: “, Santa J, Ono, ”, Nemat Shafik, Recalibrating, Rosy Fitzgerald, didn’t, Shafik, Nicole Hester, Donald J, Daniel Diermeier, Vanderbilt, “ They’re, Diermeier, —, Tracy Arwari, Ms, Arwari, Suzanne Nossel, Nossel, Amanda Andrade, Rhoades, Ezri Tyler, Tyler, Dan Korobkin, Colleen Mastony, Jacob Mchangama, Mr, Mchangama Organizations: University of, University of Michigan, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology , New York University, Brown University, Columbia University, New York Police Department, Columbia, Credit, The New York Times, Columbia University . Credit, The New York Times College, Republican, Institute for Middle, Vanderbilt, USA, Network Vanderbilt University, Pomona College, School, Pomona, PEN America, The New York Times Students, “, American Civil Liberties Union, ” Locations: Santa, Massachusetts Institute of Technology ,, Columbia, C.S, Muncy, Israel, Vietnam, Southern California, Pomona, “, Michigan, . Michigan

☆ 4 Takeaways From the Hearing on Antisemitism at Columbia University
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-17 | by ( Alan Blinder | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Four Columbia University officials, including the university’s president and the leaders of its board, went before Congress on Wednesday to try to extinguish criticism that the campus in New York has become a hub of antisemitic behavior and thought. Here are the takeaways from the hearing on Capitol Hill. With three words, Columbia leaders neutralized the question that tripped up officials from other campuses. In December, questions about whether calling for the genocide of Jewish people violated university disciplinary policies led the presidents of Harvard, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of Pennsylvania to offer caveat-laden, careful answers that ignited fierce criticism. The topic surfaced early in Wednesday’s hearing about Columbia, and the Columbia witnesses did not hesitate when they answered.

Organizations: Columbia University, Columbia, Harvard, University of Pennsylvania, Capitol, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Locations: New York, Columbia

Seventy-five years ago this past week, Sam Snead won the Masters Tournament and became the first champion to receive one of Augusta National Golf Club’s green jackets. Since the start of the month, Lottie Woad has captured the Augusta National Women’s Amateur. More than 30 past Masters winners gathered for dinner to honor Jon Rahm, last year’s champion, and Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and Tom Watson hit tee shots to start this year’s tournament. On Sunday, someone — perhaps someone new, perhaps someone already admitted to the locker room reserved for past champions — will win the 88th Masters. But this past week, all of the possibilities seemed to be on greater display than usual.

Persons: Sam Snead, Lottie Woad, Jon Rahm, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Tom Watson, —, peered skyward, Ben Crenshaw, Nick Faldo, Woods Organizations: Augusta, Augusta National Locations: Augusta, men’s

☆ The Landline’s Not Dead (at Least at the Masters)
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-13 | by ( Alan Blinder | Doug Mills | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

In Georgia, an old-fashioned custom keeps one of the country’s most beloved golf tournaments connected to its past. They call to offer up weather reports, food reviews, golf commentaries, celebrity sightings, souvenir spending confessions, legal advice and trips down memory lane. Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia has long forbidden cellphones for almost anyone inside its gates for the Masters Tournament, which is scheduled to conclude Sunday. “Dad, it’s Ali,” Ali Daschbach began this past week. She paused, a shared moment of anticipation stretching from a phone near the 17th green in east Georgia to Washington State.

Persons: ”, Dad, it’s Ali, ” Ali Daschbach Organizations: Augusta, Golf Club, Washington State Locations: Georgia, Augusta, Washington

An Augusta National Golf Club green jacket hangs on the wall, and 81 televisions show the theatrics and athletic brilliance unfolding on the emerald grounds that host the Masters Tournament. Entrance to this particular sanctum, christened Map & Flag in a nod to the Masters’s storied logo, runs $17,000 per person for the week of golf’s first major tournament. And Map & Flag is not even perched on the 18th green. It is across the street from Augusta National. The hope is that refined appeals to deep-pocketed fans will result in over-the-top spending, bigger profits and lasting loyalty.

Organizations: Augusta National Golf, Augusta National Locations: Paris, Southern, Augusta

☆ To Choose the Menu, Just Win the Masters
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-09 | by ( Alan Blinder | Doug Mills | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

The winner of the Masters Tournament gets a green jacket, an elegantly engraved trophy and a lifetime invitation to play one of the most revered events in professional golf. He also has the chance to plan a dinner the next spring for other Masters winners (and to pick up the check for one of the most exclusive evenings in sports). “How rare is it to get everybody like that in a room where it’s just us?” Scottie Scheffler said hours before his dinner last year with 32 fellow Masters champions and Fred S. Ridley, the chairman of Augusta National Golf Club, the site of the tournament.

Persons: Scottie Scheffler, Fred S, Ridley Organizations: Augusta National Golf Club

☆ The broad movement in interest rates is what matters for the economy, says former Fed vice chair
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-06 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailThe broad movement in interest rates is what matters for the economy, says former Fed vice chairAlan Blinder, former Federal Reserve vice chairman and Princeton University professor, and CNBC's Steve Liesman join 'Squawk on the Street' to discuss Jerome Powell's testimony on Capitol Hill, how the Federal Reserve will know when it's time to cut rates, and more.

Persons: Alan Blinder, Steve Liesman, Jerome Powell's Organizations: Fed, Federal Reserve, Princeton University, Capitol

☆ Yale, Duke and Columbia Among Elite Schools to Settle in Price-Fixing Case
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-23 | by ( Alan Blinder | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

For almost a quarter of a century, a coterie of the nation’s most elite universities had a legal shield: They would be exempt from federal antitrust laws when they shared formulas to measure prospective students’ financial needs. But the provision included a crucial requirement: that the cooperating universities’ admissions processes be “need-blind,” meaning they could not factor in whether a prospective student was wealthy enough to pay. But a court filing on Tuesday night revealed that five of those universities — Brown, Columbia, Duke, Emory and Yale — have collectively agreed to pay $104.5 million to settle a lawsuit accusing them of, in fact, weighing financial ability when they deliberated over the fates of some applicants. Although the universities did not admit wrongdoing and resisted accusations that their approach had hurt students, the settlements nevertheless call into question whether the schools, which spent years extolling the generosity of their financial aid, did as much as they could to lower tuition.

Persons: — Brown, Yale — Organizations: Duke, Emory, Yale Locations: Columbia

☆ How a Pro-Palestinian Group Became a Leader of Campus Protests
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-17 | by ( Alan Blinder | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

And it was recently the target of thundering speeches on Capitol Hill and blistered during a Republican presidential debate. In the six weeks since Hamas attacked Israel, there may be no college group that has drawn more scrutiny than Students for Justice in Palestine, perhaps the most popular and divisive campus organization championing the Palestinian cause. But unlike many national campus groups — whether they are sororities, fraternities, religious or political — Students for Justice in Palestine is by design a loosely connected network of autonomous chapters. The group has never registered as a nonprofit, and it has never had to file tax documents. One of the people who founded it about 30 years ago, Hatem Bazian, has described the setup as “a symbolic franchise without a franchise fee.”

Persons: Hatem Bazian, ” Organizations: Hamas, Justice, Brandeis, George Washington University, Capitol, for Justice Locations: Israel, Palestine, Columbia

Rory McIlroy, the esteemed golfer who was among the most outspoken opponents of his sport’s swelling ties to Saudi Arabia, has resigned from the PGA Tour’s board. The tour confirmed his departure in a statement on Tuesday night. Mr. McIlroy, the men said, was “instrumental in helping shape the success of the tour, and his willingness to thoughtfully voice his opinions has been especially impactful.”Mr. McIlroy’s agent did not respond to a message seeking comment. The decision by Mr. McIlroy came about five months after the tour, following secret negotiations, struck an agreement with Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund to try to create a joint company that would end golf’s money-fueled war for supremacy. Most board members, including Mr. McIlroy, had no knowledge of the agreement or the talks that led to it until shortly before it was announced in June and upended the duel between the tour and LIV Golf, the league Saudi Arabia built with a blend of billions of dollars and marquee defections from the PGA Tour.

Persons: Rory McIlroy, “, Rory —, —, Jay Monahan, Edward D, Mr, McIlroy, ” Mr, LIV Golf Organizations: PGA, PGA Tour Locations: Saudi Arabia, Saudi

And all three universities formed task forces to address antisemitism on campus. “Let me reiterate what I and other Harvard leaders have said previously: Antisemitism has no place at Harvard,” Dr. In addition, many pro-Palestinian students point out that they have faced doxxing and harassment — and they are asking on social media for similar efforts against Islamophobia. The groups have been at the center of weeks of intense demonstrations that have sharply divided students and shaken Columbia’s Manhattan campus. The university’s decision will bar the group from holding events on campus or receiving university funding through the end of the fall semester.

Persons: ” Dr, Gay, Gerald Rosberg, ” Organizations: Harvard, Palestinian, Columbia, Justice, Jewish, Peace Locations: Gaza, Israel, Egypt, Palestine, Manhattan

Tens of thousands of demonstrators were expected to fill the streets of Washington and other cities across America on Saturday to protest the scope and scale of Israel’s retaliation in Gaza for last month’s terrorist assault by Hamas. Most Americans say that they sympathize with Israel, even as they dread the war’s fallout for their own country. But as Israel escalates attacks on Gaza and fatalities reported by Gazan authorities rise, U.S. support for Palestinian civilians has surged as well. Nonetheless, a 51 percent majority supported sending more military aid to Israel for their campaign against Hamas, and 71 percent supported humanitarian assistance for Palestinian civilians in Gaza. Washington was expected to be a hub of protest.

Persons: Saturday’s, Washington Organizations: Quinnipiac University, Hamas, White, Museum of, Palestinian People, Freedom Locations: Washington, America, Gaza, New York, Seattle, San Francisco, Orono , Maine, Israel, U.S, United States, Pennsylvania

Market analysts say an array of factors have combined to force up Treasury yields. As a result, higher Treasury rates may be needed to attract more buyers. That suggests that Treasury yields may stay unusually high even if the Fed keeps its own benchmark rate on hold. Many business and consumer loan rates might, in turn, also stay high, helping keep a lid on economic growth and inflation. Wall Street traders foresee a 98% probability that the Fed will leave interest rates unchanged Wednesday, according to the CME FedWatch Tool.

Persons: Jerome Powell, Powell, ” Powell, “, Goldman Sachs, reacceleration, ”, Alan Blinder, Blinder, ” Blinder Organizations: WASHINGTON, Federal, Fed, Treasury, Wall, Goldman, Princeton University, Associated Press, American Academy of Political, Social Science Locations: Wall, COVID, Washington

Renewed manufacturing growth will boost industrial energy consumption, especially for diesel, but with inventories still low, prices are set to escalate rapidly, rekindling concerns about inflation. SOFT LANDING? The mid-cycle slowdown or “soft landing” of 1989/90 and the cycle-ending “hard landing” of 1990/91 are usually considered as one episode. Blinder has argued the Federal Reserve would have achieved a soft landing if oil prices had not spiked for unrelated reasons. Related columns:- Global diesel shortage boosts prices (September 13, 2023)- Prolonged U.S. manufacturing slowdown barely dents energy use (September 5, 2023)- U.S. diesel prices surge anticipating a soft landing (August 11, 2023)- U.S. manufacturing slowdown fails to rebuild diesel stocks (August 2, 2023)John Kemp is a Reuters market analyst.

Persons: Bing Guan, Alan Blinder, Blinder, Saddam Hussein’s, ”, Saddam Hussein, Alan Greenspan, John Kemp, Alexander Smith Organizations: Angeles Refinery, California Air Resources Board, Institute, Supply, Federal Reserve, Reserve, Global, U.S, Thomson, Reuters Locations: Angeles, California, Carson , California, U.S, Kuwait, Blinder, United States, Europe, China

☆ With a New Formula, U.S. News Rankings Boost Some State Universities
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-18 | by ( Alan Blinder | More About Alan Blinder | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The reworked formula assigned greater emphasis to graduation rates for students who received need-based Pell grants and retention. It also introduced metrics tied to first-generation college students and to whether recent graduates were earning more than people who had completed only high school. Occupying the ranking’s middle rungs meant that shifts in methodology, like the removal of alumni giving as a criterion, could easily fuel dramatic rises and falls. Schools have said that the rankings have an outsize influence on students and parents, who use them as a proxy for prestige. 29, among liberal arts colleges.

Persons: Pell, Song Richardson, haven’t, ”, Richardson Organizations: . News, Schools, Colorado College

☆ Law and Medical Schools Quit U.S. News Rankings. Why Did Few Colleges Follow?
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-16 | by ( Alan Blinder | More About Alan Blinder | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Yale Law School started the exodus last November: Dozens of law and medical schools, many among America’s most elite, vowed not to cooperate with the U.S. News & World Report rankings juggernaut. Critics of the rankings dared to hope that undergraduate programs at the same universities would defect, too. Yale, Harvard and dozens of other universities continued to submit data for U.S. News’s annual undergraduate rankings, the 2024 edition of which will be released on Monday. That the rebellion went only so far, for now, has underscored the psychic hold that the rankings have on American higher education, even for the country’s most renowned schools. The rankings remain a front door, an easy way to reach and enchant possible applicants.

Persons: “ It’s, ”, Eric J, Gertler Organizations: Yale Law School, U.S . News, Yale, Harvard

☆ Full impact of Fed hikes still to be seen in real economy, ex-vice chair Blinder says
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-01 | by ( Lisa Pauline Mattackal | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The Fed has cumulatively raised its target rate by 525 basis points to 5.25%-5.50% over the last 17 months. "I think there's a lot more to be seen," Alan Blinder, Fed vice chairman between 1994 and 1996, told the Reuters Global Markets Forum (GMF). So against that, if it's three months or four months faster, that's not a big deal, and suggests there's still plenty to come," Blinder added. Blinder also said core inflation tends to react to monetary policy action at a slower pace than headline inflation, and that coupled with the transmission lags means the Fed should consider pausing rates for some time from here. Reuters Graphics Reuters GraphicsThe 'last mile' of bringing inflation down may prove difficult for the Fed, Blinder said, adding that the central bank won't be "stubborn" if inflation settles somewhat above its stated 2% goal.

Persons: Alan Blinder, there's, Blinder, Lisa Mattackal, Divya Chowdhury, Savio Shetty, Andrea Ricci Organizations: U.S, Reuters Global Markets, Reuters Graphics Reuters, Fed, Thomson Locations: U.S . Federal, Bangalore, Mumbai

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