Dozens of pro-Palestinian demonstrators occupied Milbank Hall at Barnard College Wednesday, protesting the expulsion of two students who had disrupted a class on Israel, according to The New York Times. The masked protesters pushed past security and staged a sit-in outside the dean's office, creating a tense standoff with college administrators.
A Barnard College spokeswoman said in a statement that the protesters "physically assaulted a Barnard employee, sending them to the hospital" during their entry into the building around 4 p.m. The demonstrators chanted "There is only one solution, intifada revolution" while beating drums during their occupation. Their demands included the immediate reversal of student suspensions and amnesty for all students disciplined for pro-Palestinian activism on campus.
"Tonight, a small group of masked protesters attempted to undermine Barnard's core values of respect, inclusion, and academic excellence," Barnard President Laura Rosenbury said in a statement. She emphasized, "Their disregard for the safety of our community remains completely unacceptable."
The protesters were demonstrating against the expulsion of two students who participated in disrupting Professor Avi Shilon's "History of Modern Israel" class at Columbia University on January 21. A third participant, identified as a Columbia student, has been suspended pending investigation, while a fourth individual reportedly remains unidentified. Video footage shared by the protesters themselves showed they entered the classroom while masked, claiming they were disrupting a "Zionist class" that was "intellectualizing and normalizing a genocide."
BREAKING: Staff are fleeing after terror supporting students and faculty took over a building at Columbia.
Columbia should immediately lose its accreditation and all federal funding. pic.twitter.com/29nBcHsRJr
— Eyal Yakoby (@EYakoby) February 26, 2025
The protesters distributed antisemitic materials during the classroom interruption, including a flyer depicting a Jewish star being stomped by a jackboot. Professor Shilon, a visiting history professor from Israel, reportedly invited the protesters to stay and study rather than disrupt the class, but they declined his offer.
In a statement released Sunday, President Rosenbury affirmed "Barnard will always take decisive action to protect our community as a place where learning thrives, individuals feel safe and higher education is celebrated." Rosenbury indicated that the disciplined students had shown "no reflection, and no willingness to change." Meanwhile, Columbia University Apartheid Divest, which had posted a video of the classroom disruption, celebrated the action on social media platform X, writing, "STUDENTS DISRUPTED A ZIONIST CLASS, YOU SHOULD TOO!"
Barnard spokeswoman Robin Levine issued a statement around 8:30 p.m. Wednesday warning that if protesters did not leave by 9:30 p.m., "Barnard will be forced to consider additional, necessary measures to protect our campus." The college had attempted to negotiate with protesters, offering a meeting with Dean Leslie Grinage on the condition that participants remove their masks and show identification – terms the demonstrators rejected, as reported by The New York Times.
"We have made multiple good-faith efforts to de-escalate," Levine stated. "Barnard leadership offered to meet with the protesters, just as we meet with all members of our community, on one simple condition: remove their masks. They refused." The sit-in concluded around 10:40 p.m. when protesters marched out of the building while continuing to chant and beat drums. At least nine New York Police Department vans were positioned near campus around 10 p.m., though no arrests were made.
The incident occurs amid heightened tensions on university campuses nationwide regarding the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas. While Barnard and Columbia have historical connections to Jewish intellectual traditions, they have also been centers of pro-Palestinian activism in recent months.
