NEW YORK — Columbia University said Tuesday afternoon that student protesters who occupied Hamilton Hall overnight face expulsion. 

In a new statement Tuesday, the school said this is no longer a debate about the students’ reasons, but rather their actions.

Columbia’s latest statement

“We regret that protesters have chosen to escalate the situation through their actions. Our top priority is restoring safety and order on our campus.

“We made it very clear yesterday that the work of the University cannot be endlessly interrupted by protesters who violate the rules. Continuing to do so will be met with clear consequences. Protesters have chosen to escalate to an untenable situation — vandalizing property, breaking doors and windows, and blockading entrances — and we are following through with the consequences we outlined yesterday.

“Students occupying the building face expulsion.

“Protesters were informed that their participation in the encampment violated numerous university policies. We gave everyone at the encampment the opportunity to leave peacefully. By committing to abide by University policies, they would be allowed to complete the semester.

“Students who did not commit to the terms we offered are now being suspended. Those students will be restricted from all academic and recreational spaces and may only access their individual residence. Seniors will be ineligible to graduate.

“This is about responding to the actions of the protesters, not their cause.

“As we said yesterday, disruptions on campus have created a threatening environment for many of our Jewish students and faculty and a noisy distraction that interferes with teaching, learning, and preparing for final exams, and contributes to a hostile environment in violation of Title VI.

“The safety of our community remains our top priority.”

Columbia limiting access to campus

That decision was made 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 said 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 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.

Video shows Hamilton Hall being taken over

Overnight, a large group of protesters started another demonstration outside Hamilton Hall, chanting things like, “Free Palestine.” Witnesses said a smaller group then started breaking windows, ran inside and barricaded themselves in with desks, chairs and vending machines, which was caught on video. 

“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 girl killed in Gaza three months ago. They said they intend to stay inside until Columbia concedes to three demands: Divestment, 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 chant, ‘We don’t want no Zionists here.'”

Hamilton Hall is the same building demonstrators took over during the anti-Vietnam War protests of 1968. 

Until this point, the pro-Palestinian protests have been relatively contained, with most demonstrations happening either at the encampment or the sidewalk outside campus. Students told CBS New York they were surprised to see the situation escalate and damage school property. 

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.

“As of right now, the NYPD’s always ready, but we will not be going onto Columbia’s property with a specific request from them or not, unless there is imminent danger, imminent emergency, where we have to go on the property,” NYPD Chief of Department James Maddrey said Tuesday. “If there’s an imminent emergency, someone screaming for help, someone needs assistance, being hurt… we will go on the property, we will address that situation.”

Maddrey said the department has been speaking with the administration daily. Campus security has not provided an update on how they are responding but said in a statement a safety escort can be requested.  

“It’s the end of the school year, young people are graduating, and you know it’s something the NYPD is going to have to stand on the sidelines and be prepared to deal with all right,” he said. 

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. 

“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.  

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. 

Later Tuesday, House Speaker Mike Johnson, who visited Columbia last week, is expected to announce proposed legislation to crack down on college demonstrations across the country. 

Christina Fan

Christina Fan joined CBS2 News as a general assignment reporter in spring of 2019.