Columbia Limited Campus protests, so students took to the streets

The steps in front Low Memorial Library at Columbia University have been the site of major campus protests since the 1960s. But when pro-Palestinian protesters tried organize a rally the area was barricaded there last Thursday.

When the students instead took part in a rally on the street outside campus the next day, they were greeted by lines of police officers. The scene was heated; 15 people were taken into custody.

Since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas, Colombia has been under intense pressure to rein in pro-Palestinian protests, which accuse Israel of genocide and call for a ceasefire. The protests were not violent, but some donors, administrators and students say they reflect and fuel anti-Semitism. In response, Columbia and Barnard, the university's sister school, have tried to enforce rules that require extensive advance notice and ban anything that could disrupt campus operations.

The measures have reduced protests. But, some students say, they have also violated the right to free speech and challenged long traditions of political protest on campuses that have historically been the scene of raucous demonstrations over everything from the Vietnam War to South African apartheid .

And by limiting campus demonstrations about the war, students say, the school is pushing them into the streets, where protests can sometimes become dangerous.

The demonstrations, often organized by established activist groups, have halted traffic and cut off access to city attractions. The police responded strongly and made numerous arrests.

'One of us could get really hurt. Because we are not retreating,” said Mohsen Mahdawi, co-founder of Dar, the school's Palestinian student association. “We see a serious problem; we see a humanitarian call to stand up for an end to the killing of Palestinians.”

A Columbia spokesperson said it is the administration's job to support everyone on campus and that the university “has a responsibility to support all members of our community as they study, teach and conduct research on our shared campus.”

The reason Columbia blocked access to the Low Library stairs on Thursday was because it did not want access event indoors be disrupted, officials said. There was an evening gala celebrating the 75th anniversary of Columbia's East Asian Institute, with a keynote speech by John Kerry, the former Secretary of State.

Jennifer Fondiller, a spokeswoman for Barnard, expressed a similar sentiment. “We support our students' right to free speech, but we also have a duty to maintain a safe and nurturing learning environment for our entire community on our four-acre campus,” she said.

After war broke out in Gaza in October, tensions rose almost immediately on campuses across the country. At Columbia, two pro-Palestinian student groups were suspended in the fall semester for holding unauthorized protests, and students, professors and members of Congress accused the university of allowing pro-Palestinian demonstrations that they said promote anti-Semitism.

Columbia is one of dozens of U.S. colleges now under investigation by the federal Department of Education after complaints of anti-Semitism or anti-Muslim sentiment on campus. While there has been little violence by protesters, some supporters of Israel have argued that some chants at pro-Palestinian marches are offensive and anti-Semitic. In the fall, Columbia cited unspecified “threatening rhetoric and intimidation” when it banned pro-Palestinian student organizations.

But rather than banning specific words or phrases that could be considered discriminatory, Columbia and other colleges have taken a more bureaucratic approach to reining in protests and gatherings. At Barnard, for example, most protests now require 28 days' notice or are considered unauthorized and the participating students could face discipline.

Rules at Columbia require 10 business days' notice before a protest. Protests also generally cannot be held in buildings, where they could disrupt academic activities and campus life.

Barnard administrators did that called up about 20 students to disciplinary hearings and accused them of participating in an unauthorized pro-Palestinian student rally in December, according to The Columbia Spectator. Although the students have received only warnings so far, the message is clear that if they are caught again, more serious discipline will follow, said several students and professors who attended the hearings.

But schools also face a contradictory demand from many students and teachers to extend freedom of speech and academic freedom, even as some people find the views expressed hateful and intimidating.

“I think the right of students to protest is the fundamental core value of what liberal arts education is about,” said Premilla Nadasen, a historian at Barnard. “It is part of the student's democratic involvement in the world around him. And I see this going away at both Barnard and Columbia.”

Eliana Goldin, a junior at Columbia, is the co-president of Aryeh, a pro-Israel student organization. She said that while she thought the campus rule requiring 10 days' notice for a protest was excessive, she didn't think Columbia was holding anyone accountable for that anymore, as she still sees a pro-Palestinian demonstration at least once a week on the campus. .

She said the rules affect pro-Israel students less because they are less likely to want to protest. “I think a lot of Jews are just really trying to get through the day,” she said.

The show of force that protesters faced last Friday, when hundreds of students and others gathered just outside the gates of Columbia, shocked some of them.

“The way they showed up with dozens of police cars, with wristbands and all that stuff, it looked like they were preparing for war instead of a peaceful protest,” said Layla Saliba, a 24-year-old Palestinian American graduate student. at Columbia School of Social Work.

The afternoon had started with a small protest outside the inauguration of Laura Rosenbury, Barnard's new president, who has faced criticism for her handling of student protests on campus. Some students also disrupted her comments.

The action then moved to the corner of 116th Street and Broadway, where more community and student groups began to gather. The event was mainly organized by Within our livesa pro-Palestinian activist organization that has been organizing large protests throughout New York City since the start of the war.

Protesters said police demanded they remain in a small barricaded area and threatened them with arrest if they used a megaphone to shout slogans. After several angry skirmishes with police, the protesters left the perimeter fence and began marching around the campus.

Police warned protesters that they could be arrested if they disrupted traffic. Columbia students who attempted to reenter campus found the main gate closed, they said. Police arrested some protesters, leading to angry reactions and fights. A total of 12 people received summonses and three were arrested, including a Columbia student, police said. Police did not respond to a request for comment about officers' actions during the protest.

In songs on Friday, demonstrators compared the police, the Ku Klux Klan and the Israeli army. Another chant claimed: “There is only one solution: the intifada, the revolution.”

The march was held in part to demand more action in response to an alleged attack in which someone used a foul-smelling substance against pro-Palestinian student protesters on campus in January. Police said they were still investigating the episode and no arrests had been made. Columbia said it was blocked the students suspected of launching the attack from campus as the investigation continues.