Columbia protests live updates: Demonstrators seize Hamilton Hall

Recent college protests latest in history of university demonstrations

Columbia, Yale, USC and others are the latest to see student demonstrations, but protesting on college campuses is nothing new in America.

NEW YORK − Columbia University on Tuesday shut down its campus except for students living in residence halls and essential workers after protesters seized an academic building and blocked the entrance with a human chain.

The protesters overran Hamilton Hall hours after the school announced it had begun suspending student demonstrators “as part of this next phase of our efforts to ensure safety on our campus.”

Hamilton Hall is a short walk from where the demonstrators, protesting Israel’s war in Gaza, have occupied an encampment that for two weeks has been the epicenter for campus protests nationwide. Shortly after 12:30 am, students broke into the building and barricaded themselves with wooden chairs, metal tables and trashcans.

“An autonomous group of students reclaimed the building as ‘Hind’s Hall’ in honor of Hind Rajab, a 6-year-old girl from Gaza,” Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine said in a social media post. “We continue to stand in solidarity with Palestinian Liberation.”

The demonstrators released people, including workers, who were inside at the time of the takeover. A “Hinds Hall” banner flew from a window in the building as supporters linked arms to form a line protecting the entrance while others demonstrated, leading chants in support of Gaza and diving from Columbia.

Columbia protesters demand the school halt investments with companies profiting from Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza, and they want amnesty for students and faculty involved in the protest. College campus demonstrations have been fueled by the civilian toll in Gaza, where more than 34,000 people have died since the Israeli invasion that followed a Hamas-led attack that killed almost 1,200 people in Israel.

Developments:

∎ Officials at Portland State University in Oregon asked police to help remove dozens of protesters occupying a university library. Last week the university paused seeking or accepting gifts or grants from Boeing pending a review of weapons sales to Israel.

∎ Thirteen people were arrested late Monday after briefly occupying an administration building at Princeton University. Protests have been taking place on the New Jersey school’s campus since Thursday.

Police dismantled an encampment and dispersed protesters at the University of Utah late Monday after a rally that drew more than 300 people outside an administration building at the campus in Salt Lake City. Officers removed and dismantled about a dozen tents, stashes of water bottles, food and toilet paper as some protesters took down their own tents and drove away, the school said in a statement.

“Utah college campuses around the state are not exempt from the significant unrest that currently exists in our country and world,” said Keith Squires, the school’s chief safety officer. “Campuses serve as an internship and forum for not just students, but for members of the community who want their voice to be heard. We honor all voices, but the right to speech on our campus must occur within the confines of state law and campus policies.”

Columbia suspends protesting students: Demonstrators take over university building

The student protesters opposed to Israel’s military attacks in Gaza say they want their schools to stop funneling endowment money to Israeli companies and other businesses, like weapons manufacturers, that profit from the war in Gaza. In addition to divestment, protesters are calling for a cease-fire, and student governments at some colleges have also passed resolutions in recent weeks calling for an end to academic partnerships with Israel. The protesters also want the US to stop supplying funding and weapons to the war effort.

More recently, amnesty for students and professors involved in the protests has become an issue. Protesters want protections amid threats of disciplinary action and termination for those participating in demonstrations that violate campus policy or local laws.

− Claire Thornton