PROTEST DISPATCH: At least 100 pro-Palestinian Columbia University students walked out of class today, the one-year anniversary of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel. Columbia University Apartheid Divest, the group behind the pro-Palestinian encampment that sparked a movement nationwide this spring, organized the walkout. Students — many donning keffiyehs, the traditional headscarf seen as a symbol of the Palestinian cause — protested on the steps of Low Library and marched throughout the institution’s Morningside Heights campus shouting “Free, free Palestine!” The students later joined their peers from other schools — including the City University of New York, New York University, Fashion Institute of Technology and The New School — in Washington Square Park this afternoon for a “Students Flood NYC for Gaza” citywide action. Within Our Lifetime, a pro-Palestinian group, led the demonstration. The demonstrators were met with some counter-protests, including pro-Israel students on Columbia’s campus raising Israeli flags. Several groups — including Students Supporting Israel — set up an art installation that included milk cartons featuring Israelis being held hostage by Hamas. They held the installation on the same lawn on which the encampment took place earlier this year. Columbia limited access to campus to students and staff. The institution also boosted the number of public safety personnel. Meanwhile, the nation’s largest public school system rolled out a new hotline to which students, parents and staff can report incidents of hate, harassment or discrimination. — Madina Touré KEEPING THE RATS OUT: Adams trio of appearances on morning television today were overshadowed by the news of Phil Banks’ resignation — but the departure of the city’s chief mouth-odor inspector didn’t stop the mayor and Sanitation Commissioner Jessica Tisch from delivering their own news about the city’s often stinky trash. “We like to say, if you cook it or you grow it, you can throw it,” Tisch said on NY1. She and the mayor were focused on promoting their new $37 million composting effort, which includes the rollout of 55-gallon bins that feature rat-proof closing mechanisms. The program’s successful introduction will lead to less food in the standard garbage bags and in turn, fewer rats, officials say. “It’s an investment, not an expense,” Adams said on PIX 11. “Instead of putting three billion pounds in our landfills, we're going to be using it productively for our gardens and other aspects of the city.” The announcement comes one month before the launch of Adams’ other sanitation initiative — which mandates that New Yorkers put their trash in containers, rather than in bags on the sidewalk. The city is giving New Yorkers six months to get used to the new program before it begins enforcing fines in April 2025. First-time offending single-family homes will be fined $25, while larger buildings and repeat offenders could see tickets up to $300. — Timmy Facciola and Jason Beeferman | 
