A grand jury decided not to indict police officer Darren Wilson in the shooting death of teenager Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. That decision was followed by a grand jury in New York deciding there was not enough evidence to support charges against police officers in the death of Eric Garner, a Staten Island man who was selling loose cigarettes when he was stopped by police. Unlike the Brown case, where its unclear exactly what happened, the Garner altercation was caught on video. Protests erupted across the country following both decisions.
A Columbia University spokeswoman would not specify how many students have received postponements based on the new policy.