Carefully planned and partly improvised: inside the Columbia protest that fueled a national movement

By JAKE OFFENHARTZ
Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — Israel-Hamas war demonstrations that began at Columbia University last week have spawned a nationwide movement. How did they begin? Students at the school’s upper Manhattan campus who have been involved say it was two thing: Meticulous planning and heavy improvisation. Despite the arrests of more than 100 activists, the demonstrators have been undeterred and the protest encampment at Columbia is stronger than ever. Inspired by the success of their movement, hundreds of students have set up similar protest sites on at least a dozen other college campuses across the country.