NEW YORK — Dozens of pro-Palestinian protesters took over the Barnard College library on Wednesday, escalating tensions with school administrators in the aftermath of another building occupation last week.
The masked demonstrators filed into an unmarked side entrance of the Milstein Center around 1 p.m., according to videos posted by a pro-Palestinian organization not associated with Barnard or its affiliate, Columbia University, to demand the school reverse the expulsions of three classmates.
After Barnard issued a warning demanding the group disperse, activists ripped the written notices to shreds, saying they intend to stay. It was the second time in a week that protesters seized a campus building and disrupted classes.
“We were left with no choice but to resume the sit-in because Barnard has shown they will sabotage negotiations unless we hold them accountable,” the protesters wrote on Substack. “Until administrators concede to our demands, we in our hundreds will continue to disrupt their business as usual.”
The three expelled students faced disciplinary action over their participation in either a class disruption this semester involving antisemitic flyers or last spring’s occupation of Hamilton Hall.
In an email to students and faculty a couple of hours into the disruption, Barnard President Laura Rosenbury said “the actions of a few” must not be allowed to disrupt students’ education.
“Our academic mission is at the heart of what we do, and disruptions to that mission are an affront to the purpose of higher education and cannot be tolerated,” wrote Rosenbury, adding that campus activities outside of Milstein were proceeding as usual.
Inside the building lobby, protesters holding the Palestinian flag chanted through megaphones: “We want justice, you say how? Un-expel our students now,” while others played drums and cymbals, videos show. Demonstrator held “Wanted” signs of Rosenbury and student life dean Leslie Grinage for “the wrongful expulsion of pro-Palestinian students.”
Another activist jostled with a puppet whose name-tag identified it as Rosenbury, before hanging it outside the building by its neck. Protesters continued to call on the college president to disclose Barnard’s investments in Israel.
“Puppet President Rosenbury, are the Zionist Donors pulling the strings?” Columbia University Apartheid Divest, a coalition of various student clubs, wrote on Instagram.
Public safety agents blocked the entrance of Milstein shortly after the disruption began, according to Bwog, a student-run campus news website. About an hour in, administrators issued a notice to protesters as a final warning.
“We have offered you multiple opportunities to leave the building peacefully and without further escalation,” read the memo. “If you do not comply with this request, we will take further action as necessary to clear the building.”
As of late afternoon, the protesters still remained. In a brief phone call, Rosenbury offered a meeting with the Barnard administration, so long as students removed their masks.
“Our demand is to reinstate the expelled students because of how unjust this process has been, and we don’t intend on leaving until that happens,” one of the participants responded, videos show.
Columbia, which is under intense pressure to crackdown on protest activity amid threats to withhold funding from the federal government, released a statement separating itself from Barnard, though adding it was in touch with the affiliated college’s leaders.
“The disruption of academic activities is not acceptable conduct,” it read. “We are committed to supporting our Columbia student body and our campus community during this challenging time.”
The U.S. Education Department, the Department of Health and Human Services and the General Services Administration are considering stop-work orders for at least $51.4 million of active contracts in Morningside Heights.
