How Columbia University became the driving force behind protests over the war in Gaza

As the two-week standoff between pro-Palestinian protesters and college administrators at Columbia University in New York came to a head Tuesday, officials anxiously monitored whether the fallout would spark more protests on college campuses around the country or quell what has been a growing movement.

Protesters at Columbia appeared to be digging in, taking over an academic building that has a history of being occupied by student protesters going back nearly 60 years to the Civil Rights Movement and Vietnam war. The escalation came after the passage of a Monday deadline issued by the university's administration for protesters to leave an encampment.

A timeline illustrating how Columbia University became the driving force behind protests on college campuses across the country:

April 17

Students set up an encampment at Columbia University the same day university president Nemat Shafik is called for questioning before Congress. Shafik is heavily criticized by Republicans who accuse her of not doing enough to combat concerns about antisemitism on Columbia's campus. Allegations of antisemitism arose during Pro-Palestinian protests against Israel's actions in the war in Gaza.

The public grilling session comes four months after a similarly contentious congressional hearing led to the resignations of two Ivy League presidents. Unlike her counterparts, who focused their responses on protecting free speech, Shafik strongly denounced antisemitism, saying it “has no place on our campus.”

April 18

New York City police are called to Columbia's campus to disband the pro-Palestinian protest encampment and arrest more than 100 protesters. Those detained include the daughter of Democratic U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar, who a day earlier had