Protesters seize control of Hamilton Hall at Columbia University as anti-war protests intensify

A Palestinian flag was unfurled out of a window and dozens of demonstrators seized control of a building at Columbia University in New York early on Tuesday. This was the latest in a string of protests against the Israel-Hamas conflict that have extended to college campuses around the country.

Early on Tuesday, protestors on Columbia University’s Manhattan campus were shown on camera locking arms in front of Hamilton Hall and hauling metal barricades and furniture to the building. Hamilton Hall is one of many buildings on campus that were seized during the 1968 civil rights and anti-Vietnam War demonstrations. Soon after midnight, protest organizers’ Instagram feed posted messages urging followers to join them at Hamilton Hall and safeguard the campsite.

The takeover of the hall was covered in detail by the student radio station WKCR-FM. It happened about 12 hours after the demonstrators were given until Monday at 2 p.m. to vacate their encampment of around 120 tents or risk being suspended. Early on Tuesday, emails seeking comment were not immediately answered by university representatives.

As graduation ceremonies draw near, colleges throughout the nation are debating how to handle encampments. While some are continuing to negotiate, others have resorted to force and threats that have led to altercations with law enforcement. Numerous individuals were taken into custody on Monday during demonstrations at Virginia, Texas, and Utah campuses. Meanwhile, Columbia announced hours before to the seizure of Hamilton Hall that school had begun suspending students.

As the last few days of classes draw to a close, protesters are arguing about the Israel-Hamas conflict and its rising death toll, and there have been around 1,000 arrests made on college campuses throughout the country. Colleges are being forced by the uproar to consider their support for free speech and their financial links to Israel. A number of Jewish students claim that the demonstrations have become antisemitic and have scared them away from the university.

An attorney at the University of Texas in Austin said that on Monday, at least 40 protestors were taken into custody. On the 53,000-student campus in the state capital, where over 50 protestors were taken into custody the previous week, the altercation was a step up.

Later on Monday, a group of cops dressed in riot gear attempted to disperse an afternoon encampment outside the university president’s office at the University of Utah. When students refused to leave, police zip-tied them and snapped the poles supporting the tents. They then pulled the students off by their wrists and feet. A total of seventeen individuals were placed under custody. The university claims that the students were given many warnings to leave before the police were called and that it is against the code to camp overnight on school grounds.

Students and an increasing number of faculty members are calling for amnesty for protestors, and the situation of those who have been detained has become a focal point of demonstrations. Whether the suspensions and court records will follow the kids into adulthood is in question.

The first protests in Columbia, which have persisted, gave rise to the ones in Texas and other places, such as Canada and Europe. Student activists disobeyed the camp’s 2 p.m. evacuation order on Monday. Hundreds of protestors persisted instead. Some counter-demonstrators carried signs that said, “Where are the anti-Hamas chants?” while others waved Israeli flags.

Ben Chang, a spokesman for the institution, said that suspensions had begun but could not offer many specifics, despite the fact that no police were called to break up the protesters. As of Monday night, according to the protest organizers, no suspensions had occurred.

Federal complaints against Columbia’s handling of the protesters have also been made.

A class-action complaint filed on behalf of Jewish students claims Columbia violated their contract by neglecting to maintain a secure learning environment in spite of its rules and commitments. It also questions the shift away from in-person instruction and asks for prompt legal action so that Columbia is forced to provide student security.

Concurrently, a legal collective advocating for pro-Palestinian students is pressing the U.S. Department of Education’s civil rights office to look into Columbia’s adherence to the 1964 Civil Rights Act about their treatment.

Regarding the concerns, a university spokesman refused to respond.

Northwestern University said that, in an unusual move, it has come to a consensus with instructors and students who, together, make up the bulk of the demonstrators on the campus outside of Chicago. It permits nonviolent protests until the conclusion of spring semester on June 1st, in return for the removal of all tents with the exception of one assistance tent, and limits access to the demonstration area to students, teachers, and staff only, unless authorized by the university.

On Monday, for around ninety minutes, representatives of a sizable encampment met with University of Southern California President Carol Folt. Folt refused to go into specifics but said that she had heard protestors’ worries and that discussions will resume on Tuesday.

On April 15, USC administrators stirred great controversy when they denied the valedictorian, who has openly backed Palestinians, the opportunity to give a graduating address. Their unusual decision was justified by vague security concerns. Then, administrators decided not to grant any honorary degrees and canceled the keynote address by alumni and director Jon M. Chu.

The camping and demonstrations on campus last week, which resulted in 90 individuals being detained by riot police, were sparked by the response as well as Columbia’s actions. The major graduation ceremony has been canceled by the institution.

In an attempt to save their commencements, administrators in other places have recently ordered the clearance of encampments. Officials threatened disciplinary action, including suspension and even arrest, when such attempts failed.

However, students at other prestigious colleges dug in their heels, and standoffs persisted at Yale, Harvard, the University of Pennsylvania, and other institutions. Late on Monday, protestors and police fighting gear battled at Virginia Commonwealth University as police attempted to disperse an encampment.