Protesters Take Over Building at Columbia University

Protesters at Columbia University ramped up their protest of the Israeli-Hamas War by taking over a building on campus early Tuesday morning. The hundreds of students stormed Hamilton Hall in Manhattan at about 1 a.m…

Sandra RhodesApr 30, 20242 min read

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Hamilton Hall

, protesters put up a banner that said “Hind’s Hall.” The gesture was in memory of Hind Rajab, a 6-year-old Palestinian who killed by the Israeli military in Gaza.

Other students formed a human barricade in front of the hall and chanted “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” and “Palestine will live forever.”

The students want the university to agree to three things — reduce financial support for Israel, provide more transparency in its investments and pardon the students who have taken part in the protests, per Fox News.

A press release from Columbia University Apartheid Divest, posted on X, formerly Twitter, at 2:07 a.m., said the protesters were an “autonomous group.”

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According to the Columbia Spectator, officers from the New York Police Department were on standby outside of campus and would enter campus if they “hear that someone’s gotten hurt.”

The outlet also reported protesters started chanting “no divestment, no commencement” at about 2:23 a.m.

There were at least three facilities workers in the building when the protesters entered it. They were allowed to leave at about 12:40 a.m. One of the workers said, “They held me hostage.”

Members of the mob also allegedly covered the cameras inside the facility.

This latest move came on the heels of the university starting to suspend students who refused to leave the encampment, which started on April 18.