1-5-2024 (NEW YORK) Tensions reached a boiling point on the campus of Columbia University late Tuesday as scores of New York Police Department officers entered the Manhattan grounds to confront dozens of pro-Palestinian protesters who had defiantly occupied a main administration building. The forceful police response came after the university administration authorised law enforcement to take action against the demonstrators, according to an anonymous law enforcement official.
A large contingent of police surrounded the iconic Hamilton Hall after filing onto the urban campus earlier in the evening. This 18th-century edifice had been seized by student activists in the morning hours as they erected tents and barricades to reinforce their position, rechristening it “Hind’s Hall” in honour of a young Palestinian girl killed in the recent Gaza conflict.
The building takeover represented a brazen escalation of the protests that had been simmering on Columbia’s campus for days. On April 18th, over 100 demonstrators were arrested after police cleared their initial encampment on university grounds as the students voiced strident opposition to Israel’s military strikes in Gaza and demanded the school divest from companies profiting from the violence.
#HAPPENINGNOW: @Columbia has requested our assistance to take back their campus, which has seen disturbing acts of violence, forms of intimidation & destruction of property. @NYPDnews is dispersing the unlawful encampment and persons barricaded inside of university buildings… pic.twitter.com/gQUzXDUlFe
— NYPD Deputy Commissioner, Operations Kaz Daughtry (@NYPDDaughtry) May 1, 2024
The Columbia activists’ defiant occupation added fuel to a growing wave of pro-Palestinian demonstrations that have flared across dozens of American college campuses in recent weeks, with over 1,000 protesters arrested amid occasional clashes with riot police. From California to Massachusetts, the campus unrest has intensified pressure on university administrations to address the demands as May commencement ceremonies rapidly approach.
In a statement, Columbia condemned the vandalism and forcible entry into Hamilton Hall as an “untenable situation” with a stern warning that any students involved risked suspension or expulsion. However, organisers of the protest remained unmoved, insisting they would maintain the occupation until their three core demands – divestment, financial transparency from the university, and amnesty for all demonstrators – were met.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams addressed the protesters directly earlier on Tuesday, urging them to “walk away from this situation now and continue your advocacy through other means…This must end now.” His appeal echoed criticism from the White House, which had lambasted both the Columbia demonstrations and a recent occupation of buildings at California State Polytechnic University that caused an estimated $1 million in damages before 25 arrests.
President Biden believes students occupying an academic building is absolutely the wrong approach and not an example of peaceful protest,” stated National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby.
As the confrontation at the Ivy League campus intensified into the night, some protesters accused the university of allowing “outside agitators” to co-opt their movement – a claim Mayor Adams’ office levelled earlier without providing evidence. Organisers vigorously disputed the allegation, which carried disturbing echoes of attempts to discredit genuine grassroots activism during recent years of unrest over racial injustice.
