College anti-war protests: Columbia limits campus access to students, essential employees

NEW YORK (AP) — Dozens of protesters took over a building at Columbia University in New York early Tuesday, barricading the entrances and unfurling a Palestinian flag out of a window in the latest escalation of demonstrations against the Israel-Hamas war that have spread to college campuses nationwide.

Protesters on Columbia’s Manhattan campus locked arms in front of Hamilton Hall early Tuesday and carried furniture and metal barricades to the building, one of several that was occupied during a 1968 civil rights and anti-Vietnam War protest on the campus, video footage showed. Posts on an Instagram page for protest organizers shortly after midnight urged people to protect the encampment and join them at Hamilton Hall. A “Free Palestine” banner hung from a window.

A pro-Palestinian protester yells “Free Palestine” as she is handcuffed by University of Texas at Austin police on the campus Monday, April 29, 2024, in Austin, Texas. (Aaron E. Martinez/Austin American-Statesman via AP)

“An autonomous group reclaimed Hind’s Hall, previously known as ‘Hamilton Hall,’ in honor of Hind Rajab, a martyr murdered at the hands of the genocidal Israeli state at the age of six years old,” CU Apartheid Divest posted on the social media platform X early Tuesday.

Hamilton Hall is an academic building that opened in 1907 and is named after Alexander Hamilton, who attended King’s College, Columbia’s original name.

The student radio station, WKCR-FM, broadcast a play-by-play of the hall’s takeover, which occurred nearly 12 hours after Monday’s 2 p.m. deadline for the protesters to leave an encampment of around 120 tents or face suspension.

University representatives did not immediately respond to emails requesting comment Tuesday, but the public safety department said in a statement that access to the campus has been limited to students living in the residential buildings and essential employees, such as dining, public safety and maintenance staff. There was just one access point into and out of campus.

“The safety of every single member of this community is paramount,” the advisory said.

What to know about student protests

In the X post, protesters said they planned to remain