Columbia University term starts with protests and security Columbia University students began the school year with fresh protests and increased security just outside their famous New York City campus.
Pro-Palestinian protesters – many of their faces covered in traditional keffiyeh scarves – could be heard several blocks from the site of the demonstration on Tuesday morning.
They chanted “Free Palestine” as they banged on drums and marched in circles outside Columbia University’s famous iron gates.
Student protesters then briefly occupied an academic building that police ultimately cleared, leading to more than 100 arrests.
On Tuesday, the pro-Palestinian protesters asked the returning students to remember why they had demonstrated during the last academic year.
Two students manoeuvred a flatscreen television through protesters and metal security barriers.
Rachel Black, a freshman from North Carolina, said that she saw the protests as a welcome part of her overall experience at Columbia University.
“I’m hoping to learn what the conflict [is] about.” Columbia University spokesperson Samantha Slater did not acknowledge the protests in a statement provided to BBC News.
Multiple protests and counter-protests have been staged at Columbia University since Hamas’s attack in Israel on 7 October, 2023.
David Lederer, a 22-year-old junior at Columbia University, held a small-counter protest along with a fellow Jewish student outside the university gates on Tuesday.
There are security and protests at the start of the Columbia University term.
Just outside their renowned campus in New York City, Columbia University students started the academic year with new protests and heightened security.
Students at the Ivy League university demonstrated against Israel’s military action in Gaza last term, resulting in some of the biggest and most intense campus protests in US history.
Spectators awaited the demonstrators who gathered at the school gates on Tuesday, the first day of term, to see if their numbers would match those of the previous protests.
Police described the gatherings as “peaceful” but stated that at least two people had been arrested on Tuesday.
On Tuesday morning, one could hear pro-Palestinian demonstrators from several blocks away, many of their faces hidden by traditional keffiyeh scarves. They marched in circles outside the renowned iron gates of Columbia University, beating drums and shouting “Free Palestine.”.
Students and staff stood outside the metal barricades, watching the demonstration while waiting in line to have their identity checked thoroughly before being allowed on campus.
The BBC’s US partner, CBS News, reports that the largest disruption inside happened on Tuesday at noon. Red paint was allegedly thrown on the Alma Mater statue outside Low Memorial Library by demonstrators. According to reports, the area was closed off while workers cleaned the statue.
The New York Police Department raided a pro-Palestinian camp that had taken over the campus quad as the previous academic year at Columbia came to an end. Following a brief student occupation of an academic building, which was eventually cleared by the police, over 100 arrests were made.
Under a pall of profound unease, the school canceled its main graduation ceremony and the student body headed for summer break.
The president of Columbia during the encampment, Minouche Shafik, who approved of the police raid, resigned last month.
Reentering students were asked to recall why they had participated in demonstrations during the previous academic year by the pro-Palestinian demonstrators on Tuesday.
An flier distributed by the protesters said, “We ask that you put aside your excitement for a new school year and remember the Palestinians who died by our very dollars.”.
The BBC was asked to speak with a number of protestors on Tuesday, but most of them turned down the invitation.
The pro-Palestinian demonstration ended by mid-afternoon, but demonstrators continued to shout, “We’ll be back.”. “. .
The majority of students on Tuesday didn’t seem to be affected by the protesters. After spending a summer apart, a few hugged each other with excitement. A flatscreen TV was maneuvered by two students past demonstrators and metal security barriers.
A 28-year-old graduate student studying business named Stephanie Lee said she was prepared for protests but that her first day on campus went “OK.”.
She continued, “Security is fairly good.”.
Freshman Rachel Black, of North Carolina, said she welcomed the protests as an integral part of her time at Columbia.
The woman uttered, “I want to learn more.”. “I want to know what’s at stake in this conflict,”. “.
Samantha Slater, a spokeswoman for Columbia University, gave BBC News a statement but failed to mention the protests.
“As we start a new semester, our mission remains unwavering: to teach, create, and advance knowledge while making sure that our community is treated with respect and safety on campus. “.
Since Hamas’s attack in Israel on October 7, 2023, Columbia University has hosted a number of protests and counter-protests. Approximately 1,200 people were killed in the attack, and 251 more were taken hostage.
Since Israel started a retaliatory military campaign that has drawn criticism from around the world, the health ministry of Gaza, which is run by Hamas, estimates that about 40,000 people have died in the territory.
Six of the hostages were taken to Gaza, and Israel declared on Sunday that it had found their bodies. Hersh Goldberg-Polin, an Israeli-American who is 23 years old, was one of them. His parents launched a public campaign to demand his release.
On Tuesday, 22-year-old junior David Lederer and a fellow Jewish student staged a small-scale counter-protest outside the university’s gates.
The two unfolded a large banner that said, “Get Support for Terrorism Off Our Campus,” and his friend held up a picture of Goldberg-Polin.
Several pro-Israel Jewish students have voiced concerns about antisemitism on campus, including Mr. Lederer, who was sworn at by a bystander. The pro-Palestinian groups, they claimed, had not gone far enough in denouncing the October 7 attack and its perpetrators.
Mr. Lederer stated, “Being pro-terrorist is not the same as being anti-war; that has no place at Columbia.”.
