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New York police stormed the Columbia University campus Tuesday night and arrested dozens of pro-Palestinian protesters in an attempt to quell unrest that has spread to campuses across the country and fueled divisions in the U.S. over the war in Gaza.
The advance by hundreds of police, many in riot gear, was sparked by protesters’ overnight seizure of a university building, an act reminiscent of anti-Vietnam War demonstrations in 1968 when students took control of the Columbia campus.
The arrests marked the culmination of a standoff that began more than a week ago when students pitched tents on a lawn in the middle of campus and demanded that the university divest from companies that have profited from Israel.
The Gaza Solidarity Encampment, as it was called, tested the resolve of the university’s president, Minouche Shafik, and intensified a debate about the boundaries between free expression, harassment and anti-Semitism at a university known for its social activism .
Police entered the occupied Hamilton Hall building through a second-floor window around 9 p.m. on Tuesday. They lined up dozens of students with their wrists shackled on Amsterdam Avenue south of campus and had vans prepared to pick them up. According to CNN, police also set off stun grenades and used pepper spray.
Protesters chanted “Palestine will be free,” “Let the students go,” and “NYPD-KKK” from behind barricades blocking surrounding streets. It was unclear how many were affiliated with the university. There were no immediate reports of injuries.
University officials said police intervened at their request. “After the university learned overnight that Hamilton Hall had been occupied, destroyed and blockaded, we were left with no other choice. Columbia Public Safety employees were forced out of the building and a member of our facilities team was threatened,” the school said.
Colombia has been a focal point of demonstrations sparked by the war between Hamas and Israel that began on October 7. An earlier government decision to suspend students and call police to arrest them sparked widespread copycat occupations and repression in the United States and at universities abroad.
The administration turned to negotiations with students in hopes of resolving the situation before graduation in mid-May.
But those talks collapsed Tuesday when about 60 students took over Hamilton Hall, a century-old academic building on the corner of Columbia’s campus named after one of the school’s most famous alumni, Alexander Hamilton.
Columbia responded with warnings that students were at risk of expulsion and that the administration was “exploring options” to restore safety. The White House also spoke out and President Joe Biden condemned the students’ actions.
The university said Tuesday: “We believe the group that broke into and occupied the building is led by individuals not affiliated with the university.”
“The decision to contact the NYPD was in response to the actions of the protesters and not the cause they are supporting. We have made it clear that life on campus cannot be endlessly disrupted by protesters violating the rules and the law.”
The campus was virtually at a standstill on Tuesday, with security guards guarding the grounds and authorities urging all but essential staff to stay away. Crowds of keffiyeh-clad, pro-Palestinian protesters gathered outside the campus gates, waving flags and chanting now-familiar slogans: “There is only one solution.” . Intifada revolution!”