Protests against the war in Gaza continue at college campuses throughout the city, including Columbia University.

In a new letter Saturday, Columbia’s administration says they do not intend to call on the NYPD to clear out protesters again.

Student protests against Israel’s war in Gaza is now in its second week on Columbia’s campus.

Classes at the university end for the semester on Monday, and finals are being offered virtually for students.

In a move that may deescalate tensions on campus, Columbia President Minouche Shafik released a statement:

“We called on NYPD to clear an encampment once, but we all share the view, based on discussions within our community and with outside experts, that to bring back the NYPD at this time would be counterproductive, further inflaming what is happening on campus, and drawing thousands to our doorstep who would threaten our community.”

The clock is ticking with graduation just weeks away, putting pressure on the university to resolve the situation.

The encampment has also grown in size. Protesters are demanding the university divest from Israeli companies that are supporting the Israel-Hamas war, and they say they want financial transparency on Columbia’s investments. Student demonstrators are also calling for a complete cease-fire in Gaza.

More than 100 students were arrested when President Shafik called in the NYPD last week. The move ignited a wave of pro-Palestinian protests at campuses across the city, including NYU, The New School, FIT, Fordham, City College and other schools nationwide.

Antisemitic incidents in and around the campus, including from what police have referred to as outside agitators, have created a climate of fear for some Jewish students. The U.S. Education Department has opened investigations into dozens of schools, including Columbia, in response to complaints of antisemitism or Islamophobia since the war began.

Columbia has a storied history of student activism. All eyes remain on this elite institution, which is now the epicenter of a pro-Palestinian movement that’s sweeping across the country.

The anti-war protesters want to raise attention to the rising death toll in Gaza. More than 34,000 Palestinians have been killed since the war began in October, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. That includes more than 13,000 children, according to the humanitarian aid organization UNICEF.

Columbia’s commencement ceremony is scheduled for May 15. In a statement, the university says it wants to “provide graduating students and their loved ones the celebratory commencement they deserve.”