Persons supporting the cause of media representation at the campus of Columbia University in New York City have stimulated action against the war in Gaza by occupying an academic building. The protesters, already in the building on Tuesday, have used it as their fortified base.
Currently, the campus is in the midst of functional stress since the protest is still going strong, necessitating the university to communicate to the students and staff to avoid going to the campus on Tuesday since it is a holiday.
Indigenous students had been camping out for the last couple of weeks and planned to stay by Columbia. Columbia had previously demanded the two-week encampment be disbanded and would suspend students who did not follow it. Yet, when the deadline ended, their needs grew, and around sixty students marched to the site.
The SJP leadership, the protest group’s primary body, announced a resolve to occupy the space and not move until a solution was found. Faculty is the building which represents the historical events of the student riots in 1968. In addition to that, Riley is a member of the Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD), a group of activists that seeks to rename the building in Hind Rajab’s memory. This six-year-old girl was killed in Gaza by recent Israeli attacks.
In Hamilton Hall, by the protesters’ report, the doors have been obstructed already with the stuffing, plus they even have destroyed the building with windows breaking for entrance. Another student stated,
“The spot was legal, absolute chaos.”
Surrounded by protesters, authorities seemed ready for a long battle as each was equipped with bag full goodies.
An incident of police eviction of the previous camp at Columbia University seems to be the reason for widespread campus protestation in the country, and the protests at the university reflect the deeper trend. This demonstration is asking that their university’s funds be deallocated from the Israeli side, and the protesters are calling for their institutions to break off financial links.
The scenario remains little clear, as the protesters are standing firm, the university officials are battling among themselves, and the protest has been backed by national attention.
