NEW YORK — Protesters on the Columbia University campus occupied Hamilton Hall early Tuesday — a building protesters took over during anti-Vietnam War protests in 1968.
Addressing a crowd outside the building, one protester said: “We demand that Columbia divest all of its finances, including the endowment of companies and institutions that profited from apartheid, genocide and occupation Israelis in Palestine… We will not stop until every single one of our demands is met, until every inch of Palestine is free.”
A group representing the protesters issued a press release outlining their demands.
The New York Police Department said it has officers off campus. Sean Herbert, a CBS News producer, said he saw a small contingent of officers at one location and additional officers at another.
Columbias issued an advisory overnight saying in part, “Early this morning, a group of protesters occupied Hamilton Hall on the Morningside campus. In light of the protest activity on campus, members of the university community who may avoid coming to the Morningside campus today (Tuesday, April 30), essential staff must report to work in accordance with university policy.
Protesters unfurled a large banner from a window in Hamilton Hall that read “Free Palestine,” as seen in the following image taken from a video recorded by Herbert:
CBS News
They also unfurled a banner renaming it Hind's Hall, after Hind Rajab, a six-year-old Palestinian killed in Gaza three months ago.
Earlier, the protesters said they would have set up a second camp on the campus.
Jessica Schwalb, a junior at Columbia, told CBS News that the campus “is lawless. Absolute anarchy.”
He said the protesters at Hamilton Hall “tied the door handles and then broke the windows, hit the windows with hammers and put these metal bicycle locks around the door handles. They put the bike lock on the first set of doors is what I saw and then they brought tables, the heavy black metal tables from the dining area right in front of Hamilton Hall, and they had a group of people push them against the doorknobs as a barricade and then people also barricaded Hamilton Hall furniture inside.”
Columbia began suspending students who refused to leave the protest camp on Monday within the deadline of 2 pm imposed by the school.
But as day turned to night and Tuesday quickly approached, most of the students who spoke to CBS New York said they weren't going anywhere.
It was unclear whether the school will ask the NYPD to clean up the camp. Columbia is private property, so the police cannot enter without the administration's request.
Hundreds of students marched and rallied on campus earlier in the day in support of their classmates. who have been camped out on the lawn for nearly two weeks in support of the Palestinians.
After negotiating with the protesters for several days, the Columbia administration announced that the parties could not reach an agreement. Columbia said he will not be separated from Israel but he did offer to review the student proposals and establish more transparency for the school's investments.
This, however, was not enough for the pro-Palestinian protesters.
As the deadline approached, some professors locked arms to protect the camp, including Reinhold Martin, a professor of architectural history.
“To defend their right to speak politically and peacefully,” Martin said.
All of this happened on the same day that some students filed a federal lawsuit against Columbia, arguing that it had failed to protect them from anti-Semitism and harassment, in violation of its own policies.
“If they can enforce their procedures and restore the campus to some sense of normalcy, then the lawsuit will go away,” attorney Jay Edelson said.
Students who remain run the risk of not finishing the semester in good standing
Columbia administration sent a letter to students Monday asking protesters if they had voluntarily left the camp at 2 p.m. and signed a form agreeing to abide by university policies. would be eligible to complete the semester in good condition
If not, they would be suspended indefinitely, barred from completing that semester, barred from graduating if they are seniors, and barred from campus and residential housing.
“This movement has sparked an international movement at the national level, anti-war movement in US colleges and universities, national universities. So we've already accomplished a lot just by starting this camp and we're going to stay here until every American university , especially Columbia, divest.” said student protest negotiator Mahmoud Khalil. “The students made it clear that they are willing to stay here as long as necessary to meet their demands.”
“They stand up for what's right and I stand up for them,” student Michael Ostuno said of his support for the pro-Palestinian cause.
“I'm glad Columbia is taking a stand to protect its Jewish and Israeli student body who have been scared these past few weeks,” said one student.
One student said he came to campus on the last day of classes despite having a virtual option.
“To show that I'm not afraid and that I grew up in Israel, a big recurring theme was 'never again,' and I don't think Jews should be intimidated,” the student said.
Graduation is scheduled for May 15 on the same grass where the camp is.
Camp set up at Rutgers University
Rutgers University students set up camp on the New Brunswick campus Monday after holding a rally and then marching to the site.
They are trying to get the attention of the university's Board of Governors and the Joint Investment Committee after they felt their request for the school to divest from Israel was ignored at a meeting on Thursday.
Earlier this month, more than 6,000 students voted in favor of a referendum calling on university administrators to divest from investments in Israel and cancel the school's partnership with Tel Aviv University. More than 1,500 people voted against the idea.
There are 44,000 students enrolled in New Brunswick. Those who spoke to CBS New York at Monday's rally declined to go on camera.
“I'm here to support our students, all of them, and to see what our students are up to, what they're passionate about and also, I believe in the cause, the idea of divesting is an important part of moving our college toward to a more moral position,” said Kaiser Aslam, Muslim chaplain at the Rutgers Center for Islamic Life.
“I'm Jewish and when it comes to anti-Semitism at these rallies, I've never felt as safe anywhere as at these rallies. I've never felt as embraced as at these rallies,” said Ellen Rosner, a local resident.
Rutgers says the request is under review and that the school's president, who has no direct role in the divestment process, has made clear his personal opposition to the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement, and their support of the relationship with Tel Aviv University.
At Monday's rally, he said, in part, “Our students want to make a difference in a struggle that has cost too many innocent lives and threatens so many more. I respect their right to protest in a way that does not interfere with the functioning of the university. or with the ability to learn from their colleagues”.
Ali Bauman
