Prohama protests are rekindling on major university campuses, with students calling for stronger action from administrators.
Bernard University freshman Shoshana Aufujien criticised the school's handling of the incident, saying the administration's response lacked urgency.
“The university condemned the incident. I thought their words were a bit inactive,” Aufzien said Friday in the “American Newsroom.” “I'm not looking for lip service. I want action.”
The protest broke out last month after multiple students were expelled for distributing anti-Israel pamphlets and disrupting Israel's history class. Protesters stormed the building on Bernard's campus, part of Columbia University's education system, next to Columbia's main campus.
Aufzien said she was caught off guard by the protest and initially didn't realize how serious the situation was.
“I didn't think there would be any protest,” she said. “When I walked through the door and saw the huge 'free Palestinian' banner draped from a second-floor landing, I thought it was just a sit-in.
Anti-Israel protesters at Bernard University arrested after mob became violent
Anti-Israel protesters demonstrated at Bernard University in February 2025. (Getty; x)
A small group of protesters, many of whom covered their faces with masks or traditional Middle Eastern kefiers, occupying the buildings, preventing students and staff from entering. One school employee reportedly was physically assaulted before being sent to the hospital.
Protesters accused Bernard employees of being harassed and forced into students, but school administrators tried to negotiate with demonstrators. The talks collapsed when protesters demanded that protesters remove their face coverings as a condition for further discussion.
Aufzien expressed his dissatisfaction with how the school handled the standoffs.
“Bernard spent hours negotiating with the protesters, but the terms of the negotiation should have been that you could have disbanded immediately and presented your identification or we would have called the officer,” she said. “I am truly disappointed, like the protesters that the administrator has been literally handed over.
Elite NYC College students were expelled to disrupt classes by threatening Hamas propaganda
The demonstrations are the latest in a series of campus protests across the country in response to the Israel-Hamas War. Columbia University struggled to dissolve its property's pro-Palestinian camp last year, leading to mass arrests of more than 100 students and the resignation of the university's president.
A group of more than 50 anti-Israeli protesters took over the Bernard University building and allegedly assaulted the employee on Wednesday evening. (x/@shoshanaaufzien)
Aufzien warned that without serious consequences, the situation could escalate like last year's protests.
“I literally just want to go to class. It's the mid-season,” she said. “[My parents] I pay $95,000 a year to get an education and I don't even have access to that education. That's pathetic. ”
She also highlighted the harshness of the protesters' actions.
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“The protesters took Dean's hostage. They refused to let her go to the bathroom. And they prevented students from accessing education. It should be a basis for real change, not just a condemnation. That's what I want to see and I haven't seen it yet.
Columbia University issued a statement Following the protest, he has kept his distance from Bernard, but has declared that “disruption in academic activities is not an unacceptable act.”
