Pro-Palestine protesters take over campus building at Columbia University
After weeks of protests on Columbia University’s campus, including walk outs and encampments, tensions escalated early Tuesday morning after protesters took over a building on campus.
The building, Hamilton Hall, was occupied by about three dozen protestors shortly after demonstrators marched around the Columbia campus to chants of “Free Palestine.” Hours earlier, university administrators had begun to suspend students who refused to leave a protest encampment.
In a statement, the student group "Columbia University Apartheid Divest" said that Hamilton Hall, which has a history of student protest, had been taken over by an “autonomous group” of “Columbia community members.” The organization said the protesters plan to stay in the building until the university stops investing in companies that do business in Israel.
These protests have garnered international attention, only growing after police crackdowns. Republicans have opted to further exacerbate the situation, demanding that drastic measures be taken by Columbia University and even urging President Joe Biden to deploy the National Guard.
Columbia administrators have closed the school's campus to all but students who live in its seven dorms and employees who provide essential services. The only open entry point to the campus as of Tuesday morning is the gate at 116th and Amsterdam Avenue. Meanwhile, news reporters seem to outnumber students outside Columbia’s gates, The New York Times reported.
