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Columbia University is threatening to expel pro-Palestinian student protesters who barricaded themselves inside a campus building.
Protesters took over Hamilton Hall on Monday night, tying doors shut with ropes and blocking entrances with outdoor furniture. These students now face expulsion, spokesperson Ben Chang said.
Meanwhile, administrators shut down campus on Tuesday. Only students living in residence halls and employees who perform essential duties are allowed access.
The demonstrations that have roiled the school’s New York campus for weeks show no signs of abating.
On Monday, Columbia began suspending students after protesters refused to disperse from encampments by a 2pm deadline.
Columbia president Nemat Minouche Shafik said that talks between the school and protesters have broken down and that the university would not divest from Israel.
Ms Shafik has faced criticism for her decision to call in the New York Police Department against student protesters, resulting in dozens of arrests and sparking waves of protests across the US.
Heavily-outfitted riot police arrested scores of students at the University of Texas on Monday, using zip ties, pepper spray and a stun grenade against the crowd.
Meanwhile, Northwestern University reached an agreement with students to dismantle their encampment in exchange for concessions.
Key Points
- Columbia students occupy historic Hamilton Hall overnight
- Columbia University shuts down campus as students occupy building
- Students occupying Hamilton Hall face expulsion, Columbia University spokesperson says
- Jewish student protesters say Columbia’s pro-Palestine demonstrations aren’t antisemitic
- Graduating seniors blame USC for ruining end of college with ‘military’ crackdown on pro-Palestine campus protests
- USC cancels main commencement ceremony following chaotic pro-Palestine protests
- Riot police use pepper spray as dozens arrested at University of Texas pro-Gaza protest encampment
- Over 800 US students have been arrested this month in Israel-Gaza war protests
- Nearly three dozen pro-Palestinian student protesters arrested at California college
WATCH: Columbia will have ‘blood on its hands’ if police bring weapons to campus, student says
Columbia University student warns administration they could have ‘student blood’ on their hands
An anonymous Columbia University student who spoke to the press on Tuesday called on school administrators to de-escalate the response to protests.
“To Columbia’s administrators and trustees: Please do not incite another Kent or Jackson State by bringing soldiers and police officers with weapons onto our campus,” the student said. “If you do so, student blood will be on your hands.”
Students are currently occupying Hamilton Hall, which they have renamed “Hind’s Hall” in honour of Hind Rajab, a six-year-old Palestinian girl who was killed by Israeli tanks in Gaza as paramedics tried to rescue her. These students are facing expulsion, a Columbia University spokesperson said Tuesday morning.
Katie Hawkinson30 April 2024 19:50 1714502822Watch Live: Gaza protesters at Columbia hold press conference amid occupation of campus building
Katie Hawkinson30 April 2024 19:47 1714501846Biden condemns Columbia protests who have occupied campus building in support of Gaza: ‘Wrong approach’
The White House condemned Columbia University student protesters who took over a building on campus in protest over the war in Gaza, saying it was “not an example of peaceful protest.”
“The president believes that forcibly taking over a building on campus is absolutely the wrong approach,” John Kirby, National Security Council spokesman, said on Tuesday.
His comments come less than a week after the Biden administration signed a bill to send $26.4 billion to Israel to support its ongoing war in Gaza, which has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children. Over 100 Columbia students were arrested two weeks ago during peaceful protests at the campus.
Richard Hall has more:
Biden condemns Columbia protests who have occupied campus building in support of Gaza
Columbia students took over Hamilton Hall in the early hours of Tuesday morning and repeated their demands for the university to divest from companies linked to Israel
Katie Hawkinson30 April 2024 19:30 1714500039Watch as Columbia University students discuss request to vacate protest encampment
Watch as Columbia University students discuss request to vacate
Watch as students from Columbia University hold a press conference after the school ordered them to vacate their protest encampment.
Katie Hawkinson30 April 2024 19:00 1714498239Attorney for Jewish Columbia student suing school says ‘there are straight-out calls for the genocide of Jews’
An attorney representing a Columbia University student who is suing the school for allegedly failing to stop antisemitic rhetoric spreading across campus said that some protesters are calling for racial killings.
“There are straight-out calls for the genocide of Jews,” said attorney Jay Edelson on NewsNation’s On Balance.
“This has happened because of complacency and appeasement by our academic institutions.” The attorney did not decry the protests against the Israel-Hamas war themselves, but said that the demonstrations have veered off course.
Read more from Michelle Del Rey:
Columbia Jewish pupil’s attorney says some protesters want ‘genocide
The student alleges that some protesters are punching, shoving and spitting on Jewish students
Katie Hawkinson30 April 2024 18:30 1714496892Students occupying Hamilton Hall face expulsion, Columbia University spokesperson says
Pro-Palestinian student protesters occupying Hamilton Hall on Columbia University’s New York City campus face expulsion, a university spokesperson said.
“Protesters have chosen to escalate to an untenable situation – vandalizing property, breaking doors and windows, and blockading entrances – and we are following through with the consequences we outlined yesterday,” university spokesperson Ben Chang said.
“Students occupying the building face expulsion,” Mr Chang contniued.
Protesters occupied the building overnight, renaming it “Hind’s Hall,” in honour of Hind Rajab, a six-year-old Palestinian girl who was killed by Israeli tanks in Gaza as paramedics tried to rescue her.
“This is about responding to the actions of the protesters, not their cause,” Mr Chang said. “As we said yesterday, disruptions on campus have created a threatening environment for many of our Jewish students and faculty and a noisy distraction that interferes with teaching, learning, and preparing for final exams, and contributes to a hostile environment in violation of Title VI.”
Katie Hawkinson30 April 2024 18:08 1714496299Professors are putting their bodies and careers on the line supporting students protesting for Gaza
As students across the country face riot police, arrests and mass suspensions for protesting against the war in Gaza, there is another smaller group putting their bodies and futures on the line right next to them: their professors.
Many are joining in solidarity with the cause, others because they are concerned about freedom of expression on campus, and some because they see a real-time example of the very classes they teach.
Faculty staff have also been on the receiving end of the same violence faced by their students. At Emory University, in Georgia, an economics professor was videoed being thrown to the ground by police after she verbally intervened in the arrest of a student.
Read more from Richard Hall:
Professors put their bodies and careers on the line to support student protests
“For many of us, we are not without any fear and anxiety,” said one professor, who has been forming human barricades with other faculty members to protect protesting students from police
Katie Hawkinson30 April 2024 17:58 1714494639WATCH: Columbia University students take over faculty building in Gaza protest
Watch live as pro-Palestine protesters at Columbia University occupy campus building
Watch live as Columbia University pro-Palestine protesters occupy campus building
Watch live coverage from outside the gates of Columbia University, as pro-Palestinian activists occupy Hamilton Hall on Tuesday 30 April, escalating a battle with administrators who have begun suspending students for refusing to dismantle tents set up on the campus.
Katie Hawkinson30 April 2024 17:02 Newer1 / 12OlderDisclaimer: The copyright of this article belongs to the original author. Reposting this article is solely for the purpose of information dissemination and does not constitute any investment advice. If there is any infringement, please contact us immediately. We will make corrections or deletions as necessary. Thank you.
