Pro-Palestine students forced their way into Barnard College’s Milbank Hall on Wednesday and allegedly assaulted a staff member, law enforcement sources reported.
Dozens of mask-wearing students laid siege to the hall on Feb. 26 during a protest over recent expulsions from the school. Sources said the group became violent and charged into the facility, assaulting a staff member so badly that the individual was sent to a local hospital.
Throughout Wednesday night, the band of protesters occupied Milbank Hall and refused numerous requests to leave.
The group posted a list of demands to the Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine X account, including asking for amnesty for all involved and the expulsion reversal of two students who disputed a class on Israeli history.
The school demanded all students leave by 9:30 p.m. Wednesday night or face “additional, necessary measures to protect our campus,” a Barnard spokesperson said.
A law enforcement source stated that the NYPD were standing by in case the school requested their assistance.
The students left the hall just before 11 p.m. Wednesday and headed for Riverside Park, carrying a large banner and chanting with a megaphone. During a gathering in the park, they encouraged each other not to attend class Thursday and reconvene at Barnard for another protest in the afternoon.
The ugly scene resembled a similar pro-Palestine protest last spring in which students laid siege to Hamilton Hall at Columbia University. The NYPD was called in and hundreds of arrests were made to end the campus occupation.
This is a developing story, check back for more updates.
