Live Updates: Protesters Take Over Building on Columbia Campus

[oldsoftie]

This discussion thread was locked as off-topic by Yonnie3 (a host of the Latest Breaking News forum).

Source: WaPo

Protesters occupied a building on Columbia’s main campus early Tuesday, escalating tensions at the university after weeks of walkouts, encampments and outdoor gatherings by pro-Palestinian demonstrators that had led to suspensions and more than a hundred arrests.

A student group called Columbia University Apartheid Divest, which organized the encampment on campus, said on social media that Hamilton Hall had been taken over by “an autonomous group” of “Columbia community members.” It said those protesters planned to remain in the building until the university conceded to C.U.A.D.’s demands, which include divestment from companies doing business in Israel.

Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/live/2024/04/30/nyregion/columbia-protests-college

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This is Jan 6th for these universities. Violent takeover is unacceptable. Expell them, charge them & keep their tuition.
Doing NOTHING will only encourage more; taking away the rights of 99.9% of the students.

[jimfields33]

1. This is crazy. Definitely arrest each one.

If they are successful at staying in the building, it will spred across many colleges.

[oldsoftie]

2. And TikTok will happily spread their little videos to encourage it

[jimfields33]

3. That's for sure.

[hueymahl]

13. Ok Boomer

Oh wait, the boomers were the ones protesting at that age. The irony is amazing.

[jimfields33]

22. I'm Gen X, we did nothing. lol.

[Igel]

44. I'm a boomer.

I was 9 years old. No, I wasn't protesting.

As a matter of fact, my first exposure to protesters (anti-Vietnam War) was in DC at my 6th grade field trip to the Smithsonian in DC.

Where a couple of bearded protesters came up to me and screamed in my face how I was a effing fascist for supporting the war--they could tell by my working class "proper" clothing I was privileged.

Who intimidates and verbally abuses a 6th grader for political and self-righteousness points? Oh. A few anti-war protesters.

[LeftInTX]

45. Yikes!

I knew soldiers that were attacked after they returned. One guy was jumped and held at knifepoint for wearing a uniform.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

4. Not "peaceful protest". . . . . nt

[onetexan]

5. I believe, and as has been reported, there are RW agitators involved.

[brooklynite]

6. Where has it been reported?

[onetexan]

9. Heard on Morning Joe. I've also read it but i don't recall the source. You might wana google it.

Edited to add a quick NBC News video here >> https://www.google.com/search?q=outside+agitators+joining+college+protesters&rlz=1C1CHBF_enUS1052US1052&oq=outside+agitators+joining+college+protesters&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOTIHCAEQIRigATIHCAIQIRigATIHCAMQIRigATIHCAQQIRigATIHCAUQIRigAdIBCTE2MzUyajBqNKgCALACAQ&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:3832f2d7,vid:bRxPEWkkWbY,st:0

[MichMan]

8. They can be arrested & expelled same as anyone else.

[oldsoftie]

11. I watched Morning Joe today & no mention of any RWers. Agitators, yes

But we see that in almost EVERY protest; people come from other areas to stir shit up

[onetexan]

24. Who else besides RWers would want to be agitators?

[oldsoftie]

25. Oh come on. Look no further than the Atlanta "cop city" protests

almost ALL arrested every time were from out of state.
Same thing happened during many of the Floyd protests. Out of towners highjacking the local protests.
Anarchists

[sarisataka]

26. LOL

[IronLionZion]

16. There are some pro-war protestors in the area

any protest is going to have all sorts of people with varying agendas. Some are interested in chaos and anarchy

[Prairie Gates]

7. The sputtering apoplexy is what brings me back

[hueymahl]

12. Exactly

So many of the reactions to these protests remind me of how the boomer parents reacted to Vietnam war protests. What’s that saying? History doesn’t repeat, but it rhymes

[emulatorloo]

30. 60's campus protesters were for the most part peaceful. Nor did they engage in hatespeech to harass Jews.

I also never heard of a 60’s campus protestor taking a working class janitor hostage while violently breaking into the building the janitor maintained.

[womanofthehills]

32. 60's protesters broke into same building

Columbia University protesters occupy a campus building, echoing 1968

“Columbia students protesting racism against Black people and the Vietnam War were occupying Hamilton Hall and other buildings exactly 56 years ago — on April 30, 1968 — when police violently cleared the campus. More than 700 people were arrested and almost 150 people were injured.” https://www.vpm.org/npr-news/npr-news/2024-04-30/columbia-university-protesters-occupy-a-campus-building-echoing-1968

[hueymahl]

35. Google is your friend

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1968_Columbia_University_protests

Different facts obviously, but similar in a lot of ways, including violence.

The Jewish hatred aimed at fellow students is still very wrong, however.

[Vinca]

10. I'd like them to tell us how this helps the people of Gaza.

They're only impacting their own lives at this point and the outcome will not be positive. If they want to actually help, they could all volunteer to prepare meals at the World Central Kitchen. Of course, that wouldn't get views and likes so it's probably not an option for them.

[moonshinegnomie]

14. arrest and expel them

imagine having to explain to a future employer how you managed to get expelled from an ivy league school.

[sarisataka]

19. It is a good thing the legitimate protesters wear white hats

and the right wing agitators wear black hats so it is simple to tell them apart. Those paid by Putin wear red hats , of course.

[malthaussen]

17. Protesting like it's 1968 again.

I hear one of the occupiers found the remains of a leftover ham sandwich somebody from the SDS left in the corner.

-- Mal

[tornado34jh]

18. Is Columbia and Cornell doing this to appease their donors? This looks incredibly fishy

Long before these protests, and I have read a lot of these, big donors were going to withdraw money, and since a large amount of money that goes into universities, at least in Ivy League, comes from donors, I wonder if they had to react to the loss of money. This started long before these protests or when the presidents of Harvard, MIT, and UPenn were grilled by Congress. But someone started the chain reaction, and I am skeptical whether this whole thing is meant to silence anybody that is critical of Israel. We saw earlier with the student president who is part of the SSI movement that has a lot of misinformation about what is going on.

But who is driving the protests?

[oldsoftie]

27. Idiots are driving it. Ask them for details on what they're protesting & how to solve it

Ask them what "From the river to the sea" actually MEANS when they chant it.
Most of them dont even know of the Clinton peace plan or any other attempt at peace. Professors aren't any different; they want their public bonafides to be the "cool" prof

[tornado34jh]

31. I think it is way too coordinated to be due to idiots

This seems like a well thought plan. Some serious amount of organization had to have been used to generate something this large. But nonetheless, I believe Cornell and Columbia are losing donors, and it's not a insignificant amount. In Cornell alone, in the 2020-2021 year, donors generated about $839 million, and their most recent Cornell Giving Day this year brought $12.1 million in donors. So I have to think they are facing pressure from donors.

[LeftInTX]

20. White House condemns takeover of campus buildings after overnight protest at Columbia

The White House says taking over campus buildings is wrong following protests at Columbia University overnight that saw protesters take over a university facility.

"President Biden respects the right to free expression, but protests must be peaceful and lawful. Forcibly taking over buildings is not peaceful — it is wrong. And hate speech and hate symbols have no place in America," Deputy Press Secretary Andrew Bates said.

“President Biden has stood against repugnant, antisemitic smears and violent rhetoric his entire life. He condemns the use of the term 'intifada,' as he has the other tragic and dangerous hate speech displayed in recent days," Bates said.

Columbia University — the epicenter of pro-Palestinian protests in the United States — is advising "members of the University community" to stay away from its main Morningside Heights campus Tuesday as protesters barricade themselves inside Hamilton Hall.

https://www.cnn.com/business/live-news/university-protests-palestine-04-30-24/h_ebd5ad0bd15bfdc20c573ba170ed973f

[LeftInTX]

21. NYPD currently has no plans to enter Columbia campus without an official request

https://www.cnn.com/business/live-news/university-protests-palestine-04-30-24/h_2d112135a592cf09adee107cafafaff6

[nowforever]

23. Please

No Door Dash or Grubhub delivery's.

[oldsoftie]

28. Where are they going to the bathroom??

[Jedi Guy]

29. "Where are they going to the bathroom??"

All over social media, with every single post they make.

[oldsoftie]

38. I had NO idea what I was about to read LOL

[Jedi Guy]

39. Am I wrong? I really don't think I am. :P N/T

[oldsoftie]

42. No. As evidenced by the next post I read a moment later.

[Lancero]

37. Reminds me of a group of protestors that chained themselves up in a Lambo dealership.

I think it might have happened somewhere in Europe, but apparently the people who owned the dealership said "Fuck it, they chained themselves up, what are they going to do?" and left em overnight.

Came back in the morning to rather predictable results. The protestors, having marinated themselves overnight, complained because the dealership didn't try having them removed the night before.

Honestly, I think the above solution was great. Let them protest in peace. Wish we could do that a lot more often.

[MOMFUDSKI]

33. Don't forget their are undercover cops and

FBI young men instigating these kids. Happened in the sixties and there is nothing new under the sun. The young are idealistic and don’t fully understand the ways of the world. Let it play out and hope no one gets hurt.

[comradebillyboy]

34. Any evidence for that assertion?

[Jedi Guy]

40. Now you mention it, I had forgotten that since there's no evidence it ever happened. Weird. N/T

[oldsoftie]

41. TOTAL bullshit. You think "the Feds" instigated Jan 6th too?

Thats a right wing BS talking point for the past 3 years; "the Feds made me do it!"
Let it play out? They broke into the building exactly like the Jan 6th idiots did. Laws have been broken.
Clean them out, expell them & keep their tuition. Good luck putting that on your resume.

[Deminpenn]

43. For perspective the 54th anniversary of

the death of 4 Kent State students who were killed when Ohio National Guardsmen fired into a crowd of students protesting the VN war.

These students are protesting another war supported by US policy and military equipment and for the same reason; they're seeing the wanton destruction and recognize it for being morally wrong.

[Yonnie3]

46. Locking after an alert and a discussion by the hosts.

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