Pro-Palestinian protesters occupied Columbia University’s Hamilton Hall for over 20 hours, leading police to storm the building and arrest dozens, Associated Press reports.
The protest, part of a wider movement against the Israel-Hamas war, prompted the university officials to request police assistance due to vandalism and blockades. Critics of Columbia’s decision argued that the police intervention was excessive and could have been avoided. Columbia’s president Minouche Shafik expressed regret over the need to involve police and suggested that the protest was led by individuals unaffiliated with the university. However, this assertion was disputed by protest organizers and participants.
Similar protests occurred at other universities, with clashes between demonstrators and police resulting in over 1,000 arrests nationwide, sparking debate over free speech and accusations of antisemitism. The incident coincided with the 56th anniversary of a similar police crackdown on a student occupation of Hamilton Hall, protesting against racism and the Vietnam War.
