2 weeks ago
Pro-Palestine demonstrators at Columbia University seized Hamilton Hall today and barricaded themselves inside.
Columbia student radio members work outside Hamilton Hall after protesters barricaded themselves inside the Hamilton Hall. (Reuters)
New Delhi,UPDATED: Apr 30, 2024 16:24 IST
Protestors at Columbia University laid siege to an academic building, barricaded themselves inside, and raised pro-Palestine banners. The scene of the latest demonstration was the iconic Hamilton Hall, a building that has had a long-standing connection with students’ protests.
The videos from the campus showed protesters using furniture to barricade doors, with hundreds camped outside the building to protest against the war in Gaza.
A white banner with ‘Hind’s Hall’ written on it was seen hanging from the Hamilton Hall building, in memory of Hind Rajab, a six-year-old girl who died in Gaza earlier this year.
The Hamilton building has been at the heart of campus movements in the past as well. The building was the first that hundreds of students seized in April 1968 during protests over the Vietnam War.
It once again took centre stage as the weeks of pro-Palestine protests at Columbia University, as well as other US campuses, showed no signs of abating despite hundreds of arrests and threats of sanctions.
Video showed protestors breaking the glass door before they barricaded themselves inside the hall.
Demonstrators also draped a Palestine flag from the window.
The protestors and the academic leaders have held talks but failed to come to an agreement.
Columbia University President Minouche Shafik on Monday said the encampment has “created an unwelcoming environment for many of our Jewish students and faculty. External actors have contributed to creating a hostile environment in violation of Title VI, especially around our gates, that is unsafe for everyone—including our neighbours”.
Urging demonstrators to “voluntarily disperse”, Shafik said the university has “no intention of suppressing speech or the right to peaceful protest”.
The protesters, on their part, have been demanding a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, an end to US military assistance for Israel, and university divestment from companies profiting from Israel's incursion.
Tuesday's episode was the fallout of the administration's clampdown on encampments over the Israeli assault on Gaza following the October 7 attack by terrorist group Hamas.
Published On:
Apr 30, 2024
