Columbia University student Mahmoud Khalil (C) talks to the press during a briefing organized by Pro-Palestinian protesters who set up a new encampment at Columbia University’s Morningside Heights campus on June 01, 2024.Mother Jones; Selcuk Acar/Anadolu/Getty
Early this week, as Columbia students scrambled to respond to the United States government’s arrest of recent graduate Mahmoud Khalil, a series of logistical hurdles emerged. What would the protesters do if approached by police? What did the fine print of Columbia’s recently-updated public events policy say? What should the group tell the media?
As one student told me, there was a grim humor amid the discussion. “Shit,” they thought each time an obstacle came up, “Mahmoud would’ve known what to do.”
“My husband was…