Columbia University locked down its main Morningside campus after student activists took over an academic building overnight, struggling to restore order as virulent anti-Israel protests spiral out of control.
In a Tuesday update, the university said that “access to the Morningside campus has been limited to students residing in residential buildings on campus” as well as “employees who provide essential services to campus buildings, labs and residential student life,” including dining, public safety, and building maintenance.
“There is no additional access to the Morningside campus,” said the campus alert. “the only access point into and out of campus is the 116th Street and Amsterdam gate. All other campus entry points are closed.”
The shutdown, which will remain in place until “circumstances otherwise allow,” was implemented a day after Columbia began suspending students ensconced in the “Gaza Solidarity Encampment” covering the West Lawn at the heart of the main campus.
Late Monday, about three dozen student protesters responded by occupying Hamilton Hall, vowing to remain until their demands are met, including divesting from Israel, which Columbia President Minouche Shafik has refused to do.
Student protesters, many wearing masks, linked arms and blocked the entrances to Hamilton Hall with metal barricades and furniture. Protesters hung a “Free Palestine” banner in front of the building and waved a Palestinian flag from one of the windows.
Antisemitic agitators have taken hammers to @Columbia and are now occupying a main building.
— Rep. Anthony D’Esposito (@RepDesposito) April 30, 2024
These terror sympathizers will destroy @Columbia until leadership steps up.
Shafik’s out of her depth — resign. pic.twitter.com/yGLeRJ21UO
Columbia University Apartheid Divest, the student group leading the protests, said they have renamed the building “Hind’s Hall” in honor of Hind Rajab, whom they described in a statement as a “martyr murdered at the hands of the genocidal Israeli state at the age of six.”
“We call on the press and members of the public to hold Columbia accountable for any disproportionate response to students’ actions today,” said the statement posted on X by Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine. “To Columbia’s administrators and trustees: Do not incite another Kent or Jackson State by bringing soldiers and police officers with weapons onto our campus. Students’ blood will be on your hands.”
Columbia called in the New York Police Department on April 18 to clear out the encampment. Officers arrested more than 100 students on trespassing charges, but the tent city reemerged bigger than ever.
Negotiations between the university and student activists to dismantle the camp broke down Monday, prompting Ms. Shafik to urge students to “voluntarily disperse.” Hours later, the university said it began suspending students.
“Students who agreed to leave and sign a form committing to abide by University policies will be allowed to complete the semester,” said Columbia spokesperson Ben Chang in a Monday update. “Students who do not will be placed on suspension, ineligible to complete the semester or graduate, and will be restricted from all academic, residential, and recreational spaces.”
The university has previously said it will not bring back in police despite calls from lawmakers like Sen. Josh Hawley, Missouri Republican, to mobilize the National Guard.
Columbia faces pressure from congressional Republicans to clear out the student encampment over concerns about the safety of Jewish students, some of whom have left campus after being urged to do so by a Columbia-affiliated rabbi.
House Speaker Mike Johnson and others have called on Ms. Shafik to restore order or resign, while the House Education and the Workforce Committee is investigating rising campus antisemitism spurred by the anti-Israel student protests.
• Valerie Richardson can be reached at vrichardson@washingtontimes.com.
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