Pro-Palestinian student protesters clash with Barnard College staff during sit-in to protest student expulsions

(CNN) — A small group of pro-Palestinian student demonstrators occupied a building at Barnard College’s Manhattan campus Wednesday, clashing with staff and sending one employee to the hospital, the school said.

The demonstration, organized by Columbia University Apartheid Divest, was part of a week of action demanding the reinstatement of two students expelled for disrupting an Israeli history course last month.

Nearly 100 students from Barnard and Columbia University – which is affiliated with Barnard and was a focal point of pro-Palestinian demonstrations last year – staged a sit-in at Barnard’s Milbank Hall, Columbia University Apartheid Divest said on social media.

Masked students, many of them wearing keffiyehs, a traditional Middle Eastern scarf often symbolizing Palestinian identity, sitting inside a hallway chanting, clapping and beating drums, videos posted to social media by CUAD Wednesday showed.

The students “physically assaulted a Barnard employee, sending them to hospital,” a Barnard spokesperson told CNN.

Barnard security staff “harassed and shoved several students, knocking at least one to the ground,” CUAD said on social media. CNN has reached out to the group for comment.

The physical confrontations renewed debates over campus safety amid nationwide tensions tied to Israel’s war in Gaza. Among the protesters’ demands are the reversal of the expulsions, amnesty for students disciplined for “pro-Palestine action or thought,” a public meeting with Barnard President Laura Rosenbury and Barnard Dean Leslie Grinage, and full transparency in disciplinary proceedings, according to CUAD.

By Wednesday evening, the protesters had left Milbank Hall without further incident after Barnard set a deadline and warned of further action.

“Let us be clear: their disregard for the safety of our community remains completely unacceptable,” Rosenbury said in a statement.

The expulsions of the Barnard students were disclosed Saturday by CUAD. Barnard declined to discuss the status of the students involved, citing federal law and privacy concerns.

On January 21, several individuals disrupted the first day of a History of Modern Israel class at Columbia by handing out flyers with what the university called “violent imagery.”

The college cannot comment on individual students’ records, but “as a matter of principle and policy, Barnard will always take decisive action to protect our community as a place where learning thrives, individuals feel safe, and higher education is celebrated,” school spokesperson Robin Levine told CNN in a statement Wednesday.

Barnard leadership “made multiple good-faith efforts to de-escalate” the demonstration and “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. We have also offered mediation,” Levine said.

“When rules are broken, when there is no remorse, no reflection, and no willingness to change, we must act,” Rosenbury said. “Expulsion is always an extraordinary measure, but so too is our commitment to respect, inclusion, and the integrity of the academic experience.”

CUAD said that unmasking exposes them “to greater risk of doxxing, violence, and disciplinary action.” They added, “This move by President Rosenbury and Dean Grinage violates the previously agreed upon terms and betrays the spirit of good faith negotiation.”

The group also held a mass picket outside Barnard gates Thursday in support of the expelled students.

Wednesday’s protest at Barnard follows a years-long spate of high-profile incidents at universities across the country in response to the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, of which Columbia has been a focal point.

Last year at Columbia was marked by protests, an encampment on school grounds, a building occupation and the mass arrest of more than 100 demonstrators. The university’s president resigned in August amid mounting pressure over Columbia’s handling of the protests.

In April, Barnard suspended at least 55 students for their alleged participation in pro-Palestinian encampments at Columbia, the Columbia Spectator reported.

The protests Wednesday were not taking place on Columbia’s campus and Barnard’s leadership and security team were assessing the situation, Columbia said in a statement on its website.

“The disruption of academic activities is not acceptable conduct,” the statement said. “We are committed to supporting our Columbia student body and our campus community during this challenging time.”

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