Pro-Palestinian demonstrators occupying Columbia University received the threat of expulsion as they vowed to stay until their demands were met after barricading themselves inside one of its main buildings.
The standoff between the hundreds of protesters and officials at the Ivy League university escalated after the authorities began suspending students. On Tuesday afternoon, a university official said anyone in the building could be expelled.
The Biden administration, in its most forceful denouncement of the protests yet, said the latest occupation was “unacceptable” and “not an example of peaceful protest”.
Activists barricade themselves in the hall, which contains the office of the dean
ALEX KENT/GETTY IMAGES
A demonstrator breaks the windows of the front door of Hamilton Hall to secure a chain around it to prevent the authorities from entering
ALEX KENT/GETTY IMAGES
Protesters storming the hall
LOKMAN VURAL ELIBOL/ANADOLU/GETTY IMAGES
Students secure the entrance
MARCO POSTIGO STOREL/AP
“The president believes that forcibly taking over a building on campus is absolutely the wrong approach,” John Kirby, the national security council spokesman, told reporters.
Hundreds of students stormed the New York campus’s Hamilton Hall early
Emily Foster is a globe-trotting journalist based in the UK. Her articles offer readers a global perspective on international events, exploring complex geopolitical issues and providing a nuanced view of the world’s most pressing challenges.
