Columbia protests occupy Hamilton Hall, as students prepare for finals. What happens next?

NEW YORK — Columbia University is limiting access to campus after pro-Palestinian demonstrators occupied Hamilton Hall overnight, in defiance of a deadline to disperse. 

In the latest update to students and staff, university officials say the Morningside campus may only be accessed by students who live in residential buildings, including Carman, Furnald, John Jay, Hartley, Wallach, East Campus and Wien, as well as essential employees. All entrances are closed except for the 116th Street and Amsterdam Avenue gate.

University President Minouche Shafik had given protesters a 2 p.m. deadline Monday to clear their pro-Palestinian encampment that has been set up on the school’s main lawn for nearly two weeks. The president said negotiations between students and school administrators fell apart, with the university refusing their demand to divest from Israel. 

As of Tuesday morning, the encampment shrunk in size, and many of the protesters had moved to Hamilton Hall. Emotions continued to run high at protests off campus, too.

What happened at Columbia last night

Overnight, a large group of protesters started another demonstration outside Hamilton Hall. Witnesses said a smaller group then started breaking windows, ran inside and barricaded themselves in with desks, chairs and vending machines. 

“Early this morning, a group of protestors occupied Hamilton Hall on the Morningside campus. In light of the protest activity on campus, members of the University community who can avoid coming to the Morningside campus today (Tuesday, April 30) should do so,” the university said in a public safety announcement.   

Protesters unfurled several banners, including one that renamed the building “Hind’s Hall,” after Hind Rajab, a 6-year-old Palestinian killed in Gaza three months ago. They said they intend to stay inside until Columbia concedes to three demands: Divest, financial transparency and amnesty. 

Two students who witnessed the protest said it was hostile and aggressive. 

“They barricaded themselves in, they brought chairs out, blocked the doors, and they moved outdoor, heavy metal tables, blockaded the doors… formed human chains and started protesting, and claiming that they had liberated the space, essentially,” student Jonas Du told CBS New York. “Just a complete lack of administration, complete lack of public safety and NYPD.”  

“They’ve just been targeting students, whomever they can find, calling them Zionists,” junior Jessica Schwalb said. “If you hear them, they’ve been chanting, ‘We don’t want no Zionists here.'”

Will the NYPD be called to Columbia?

The NYPD has officers stationed outside the school’s entrances where protests have popped up over the past few days, but police remain off campus. Officials have said the university is private property, so officers cannot respond unless requested or if there is a threat to public safety.

“The police and the media are the tools that demonstrators can use to amplify whatever the small group that’s taken over the building are doing. So police are going to be very careful with how they handle any protest, including one that’s off the campus and onto city property,” CBS News Law Enforcement Contributor and former NYPD Deputy Commissioner Richard Esposito explained.

Campus security has not provided an update on how they are responding but said in a statement a safety escort can be requested.

Columbia’s president called the NYPD on student protesters earlier this month when their encampment first took shape, and more than 100 people were taken into custody. NYU also called police when protesters staged a similar encampment in Gould Plaza.

Gov. Kathy Hochul said last week she would not send the National Guard to campus, and Mayor Eric Adams has said the NYPD is ready to respond but it’s ultimately the school’s call. 

Classes ended Monday, and students will spend the next few days studying for their final exams. The university says graduation will be held as planned on May 15, on the same lawn where the encampment stands.