Columbia Students Take Over Building in Pro-Palestinian Protest

At Columbia, student demonstrators barricaded themselves into a campus building. At Yale, the police were called in to clear an encampment that protesters are vowing to reoccupy.

The unfolding events at the two campuses represent the stark choices facing the leadership at elite American universities, who are grappling with how to respond to increasingly confrontational pro-Palestinian protesters.

Fueled by the viral power of social media, the ongoing demonstrations at colleges across the US are sparking recriminations that are drawing in everyone from students to faculty, and billionaire donors to politicians. They have also intensified debate over how universities respond to antisemitism versus other forms of discrimination, and allow for free speech while keeping students safe.

The latest dramatic turn in the protests came just after midnight Tuesday in New York, when students broke through doors to enter the Hamilton Hall building at Columbia and shut themselves inside.

They piled tables and chairs to block doors and covered security cameras. They also unfurled banners from the windows that read “Student Intifada,” a reference to armed Palestinian uprisings against Israeli occupation, and “Hind’s Hall,” a reference to a child killed in Gaza.

--------

Bloomberg Quicktake brings you global social video spanning business, technology, politics and culture. Make sense of the stories changing your business and your world.

Connect with us on…

[JudySnyder-dvld]

College is for classes, not protests.

[fowlerja]

Student speaks, Student breaks law, Student goes to jail. Aim high, dream big, achieve greatness.

[acqueenarkpyanne]

No amnesty n remove all.loans n expell

[mephosto]

here's a fact. nobody gives a shit.

[albertvangestal]

This would never happen under President George W Bush

[dylanfafard]

People still wearing masks? Gotta love liberals

[Eline_Eveline]

Big up to these students ! Free free palestine 🧡💚🩷🩷🩷🩷🧡

[ajwhitehurst]

Wonder if they will be arrested or have any consequences to their actions?

[yangjianguo]

IMO, in US, the protests are usually peaceful and maybe a bit noisy with lots of slogans shoutings and yet they have to encounter and suffer such unwarranted and excessive police brutality.

Whereas, in Hong Kong, for 2 years (from Yr 2019 to 2021), there were violent and riotous protests, every day, 24/7, for a period of 2 years (and mind you, those riotous protestors received 100% support & encouragement from the human rights activists and the US Congress too) .... and yet, the Hong Kong security and police force were able to handle those riotous protestors (with care and understanding) in an authoritative manner but short of bullying
and manhandling.

The HK security and police force had shown to the world at large what is the true meaning of police professionalism .... 👍👍!!

[mucahitkeskin]

Free free Palestina.
Stop supporting genocide.

[tridaxpod]

Thank you each and everyone of you for standing for humanity