NEW YORK—On the afternoon of Feb. 27, masked pro-Palestinian protesters occupied Barnard College’s Milbank Hall and assaulted a school employee, according to the school.
Videos posted online show a group of kaffiyeh-wearing protesters pushing their way into the main building of Barnard College during class time. They beat drums, chanted with megaphones, and vandalized the walls.
Barnard College is a private all-women’s liberal arts college affiliated with Columbia University.
The student group Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine documented the protest on their X account and posted their demands.
The protesters asked for a reversal of a recent expulsion of two Barnard students who had interrupted a class on the history of Israel with a pro-Palestinian demonstration, amnesty for students disciplined for pro-Palestinian actions, a public meeting with the dean and president of the school, and greater transparency in disciplinary proceedings. The message ended with, “We will not stop until our demands are met. Free Palestine.”
Videos of the crowd in the building showed Palestinian flags and slogans such as “Barnard funds genocide” and “Free Palestine” scribbled on the wall in marker.
Robin Levine, the college’s vice president for communications, said in a Feb. 26 statement that the protesters had assaulted a Barnard employee, sending the person to a hospital. Levine also said that the protesters were ignoring safety by inviting people on campus without identification.
“Barnard is a place of learning. Respect, inclusivity, and safety are nonnegotiable. Violence and intimidation have no place here,” Levine said.
Levine said in a separate statement obtained by The Epoch Times that the protesters had left by 10:30 p.m. without another incident after they were told Barnard would have to consider additional measures to protect the campus if they did not leave. The statement said that no promise of amnesty or concessions was negotiated.
The Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine wrote to X that the protesters had dispersed after the staff had agreed to meet for discussions on Thursday. The results of the meeting have not been confirmed.
The group reposted a post by a similar account called Unity of Fields stating that the school administration had gone back on a deal that said that the student negotiators would be able to wear masks during the meeting. They stated that this would not make them back down, and accused administrators of betraying the spirit of good faith in the negotiations. The school did not respond to our request for comment.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams wrote on social media platform X, “I condemn, in the strongest possible terms, any protest that calls for an ‘intifada revolution.’”
