Protests resume as Columbia University students return to campus

Protesters at Columbia University in New York on Tuesday marked the first day of classes with a pro-Palestinian demonstration pushing the school to cut all ties with Israel. Footage showed picketers beating makeshift drums, wearing Arabic keffiyehs, and waving picket signs, including large cutouts of the United Auto Workers union logo. Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine mounted the protest and said the New York Police Department arrested two demonstrators. Video shows officers scuffling with protesters who broke through police barricades separating protesters from the main entrance of Columbia University’s Barnard College. Protesters also dumped red paint over a school statue, the Alma Mater, located at the heart of the main campus, according to a social media advocate who posted unverified video from an anonymous source.

What did administrators do to prepare for the return of demonstrators? Columbia’s Task Force on Anti-Semitism released a report earlier this month outlining ways to reduce anti-Semitism and aggression on campus. Interim President Katrina Armstrong welcomed the panel’s suggestions and personally condemned anti-Semitism on campus in a Friday statement. The painful anti-Semitic incidents recounted by the task force are completely unacceptable and antithetical to Columbia’s values, she wrote.

The panel suggested inclusion and anti-bias training for students and faculty, including resident advisers and teaching assistants. The task force also recommended in-person workshops on anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, and dispute resolution, and streamlining the process to report bias and exclusion. The school also restricted campus access to those with Columbia University student IDs and their registered guests.

Are protests expected to restart on campuses around the country? The National Students for Justice in Palestine called on North American chapters to participate in a “day of action” scheduled for September 12. The student movement for Palestinian freedom will continue organizing on campuses for the student intifada until universities divest, the group wrote on Monday.

Dig deeper: Read my background report in WORLD Magazine to learn more about Students for Justice in Palestine.