In a concerning development at Cal. State University Los Angeles (CSULA), pro-Palestinian protesters barricaded a building, trapping Campus President Berenecea Johnson Eanes, inside her office. The protesters, who had already established encampments on another part of the campus more than a month ago, escalated their actions on June 12 by creating barriers with furniture, overturned golf carts, and tables in front of the Student Services Building and surrounding plaza.
BREAKING NEWS: 8 hours into the @CalStateLA student services building occupation:
- The entrance/exits are under the control of rogue pro-Pal activists and vandals
- A handful of employees, Including the University's President remain trapped and claim to be sheltering in place.… pic.twitter.com/AlibgrggOW
— Chris Cristi (@abc7chriscristi) June 13, 2024
The college instructed employees within the Student Services Building to shelter in place, while employees elsewhere on campus were advised to leave. Erik Hollins, a campus spokesperson, confirmed the tense situation, stating, "I can confirm that there are still a small number of administrators in the building. We are working through options to bring this fluid situation to the best resolution possible."
The protesters, many of whom covered their faces, stationed themselves in front of the building's entrance, reinforcing their barricade with copy machines and furniture removed from inside the building. Pro-Palestinian graffiti covers many windows.
Pro-Hamas agitators have vandalized and barracaded the entrances to the student services building at Cal State L.A.
The school's president and several other faculty members are essentially being held hostage inside.
Karen Bass & Gavin Newsom are yet again, nowhere to be found. pic.twitter.com/eMYpVrAahW
— Kevin Dalton (@TheKevinDalton) June 13, 2024
While the presence of campus police appeared minimal, the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) has not been requested to intervene thus far. The school referred to the group as engaging in "unauthorized protest activity." Some protesters have even brought in food, supplies, and diapers, indicating their determination to maintain their occupation for an extended period.
Meanwhile, in a shocking revelation, top administrators at Columbia University were caught mocking and dismissing concerns raised by Jewish students and alumni about the alarming rise of antisemitism on campus. Leaked text messages between high-ranking officials, captured during a panel discussion on Jewish life at the university, expose a disturbing attitude of indifference and disdain toward the plight of the Jewish community.
The incident unfolded on May 31, during a panel discussion organized as part of the university's alumni reunion festivities. The panel, titled "The Past, Present, and Future of Jewish Life at Columbia," featured speakers such as the former dean of Columbia Law School, David Schizer, who co-chaired the university's task force on antisemitism, and a rising junior, Rebecca Massel, who covered the campus protests for the student newspaper.
Unbeknownst to the panelists, several top administrators were present in the audience, including Josef Sorett, the dean of Columbia College; Susan Chang-Kim, the vice dean and chief administrative officer of Columbia College; Cristen Kromm, the dean of undergraduate student life; and Matthew Patashnick, the associate dean for student and family support.
I am not shocked that deans at @Columbia aren't dismissive about Jewish students' concerns.
What I am shocked about is that they're accusing the Jews of exploiting this moment for "fundraising potential."
It's like they're following every antisemitic trope in the book. https://t.co/kRm7ZOO4LK
— Shai Davidai (@ShaiDavidai) June 13, 2024
Throughout the nearly two-hour panel, Chang-Kim was actively texting her colleagues, and they were responding in kind. As the panelists offered frank assessments of the climate Jewish students have faced, the administrators responded with mockery and vitriol, dismissing claims of antisemitism and suggesting, in Patashnick's words, that Jewish figures on campus were exploiting the moment for "fundraising potential."
The administrators expressed skepticism that Jewish students had experienced targeting or discrimination, with Chang-Kim questioning, "Did we really have students being kicked out of clubs for being Jewish? This is difficult to listen to but I'm trying to keep an open mind to learn about this point of view," Chang-Kim texted Sorett.
The text messages also used vomit emojis to describe an op-ed about antisemitism by Columbia's Campus Rabbi Yonah Hain. "And we thought Yonah sounded the alarm…" Kromm wrote derisively to Chang-Kim and Patashnick, referring to Hain's column expressing concern about the "normalization of Hamas" on campus.
