For those of you who get your news from this forum, the NYPD was given the green light to clear out Columbia. Apparently, the final straw was the takeover of a building. They vandalized the building. They threatened/assaulted other people who were in the building. There's even some embarrassing footage of a protestor getting into a fight with a janitor.

The janitor claims he was held against his will:

https://www.foxnews.com/us/columbia-university-facilities-worker-speaks-terror-takeover-held-hostage

The protestors are dumb enough to videotape themselves assaulting a janitor and then uploading the footage.

If that account is true (assault or unlawful imprisonment), that's a crime that forces the NYPD to investigate. That means Columbia can't stick to their guns and deny the NYPD the authority to clear out the protest, because then they would face even greater civil or maybe even criminal charges. There already was a class action lawsuit filed against Columbia on behalf of Jewish students, but as usual that won't be fully resolved until 5 years from now.