Students at Columbia University and its sister school, Barnard College, recently camped on the Uptown Manhattan campus while holding a demonstration to protest Columbia’s investment in Israeli-linked companies.

U.S. police have carried out mass arrests at universities across the country, sometimes using chemical irritants and stun guns to disperse protests sparked by Israel’s war with the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas.

Student camping demonstrations at Columbia University and its sister school, Barnard College, are a complex and sensitive issue. In dealing with such incidents, it is necessary for all parties to maintain a rational, open and inclusive attitude, and to seek consensus and solutions through dialogue and consultation.