Dozens of students at Columbia University in New York City stormed across the campus and took over a building early on Tuesday, just one day after the school began suspending students who defied a deadline to disperse from a pro-Palestinian encampment, a spokesperson for the university confirmed to The Epoch Times.
In an emailed statement to The Epoch Times, Ben Chang, vice president for communications at Columbia University, said students had begun barricading themselves inside Hamilton Hall—a building near the South Lawn where the office of the dean is located—in the early hours of the morning.
“The safety of every single member of this community is paramount,” Mr. Chang said, adding that the school had alerted its campus community.
“In light of the protest activity, we have asked members of the University community who can avoid coming to the Morningside campus to do so; essential personnel should report to work according to university policy, “ he said.
Mr. Chang also noted that access to the campus had been limited to students residing in residential buildings on campus and employees who provide essential services to campus buildings, labs, and residential student life.
According to The New York Times, the students began occupying the hall at around 12:35 a.m.
The protesters linked arms and blocked off the main entrance to the building at the Ivy League institution after previously marching around campus to chants of “free Palestine,” according to the publication.
A statement shared on the social media platform Instagram by student groups said the protesters had “taken matters into their own hands,” and would remain in the building until the university “divests from death.” Protesters have been urging the university to pause its investments in companies that, they claim, are profiting from Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza.
The statement included video footage that appeared to show the students carrying metal barricades into Hamilton Hall as other students cheered them on.
“This escalation is in line with the historical student movements of 1968, 1985, and 1996 which Columbia repressed then and celebrates now,” the statement read. “This action will force the university to confront the blood on its hands.”
