New York City’s Columbia University will welcome students for the fall 2024 semester after imposing a lockdown to keep out “non-affiliates” with bad intentions, officials announced over the weekend, as part of a response to anti-Semitic protests in the spring that escalated into police storming a barricaded building and dragging away anti-Israel agitators.
Police made dozens of arrests at separate protests at the school’s Hamilton Hall and at the City University of New York, but authorities said nearly half of the suspects were not students.
Protesters had been camping outside in tents for weeks, having smashed windows, blocked windows and doors with chains and furniture and covered their faces before being detained by police.
Columbia University considering arrest powers for campus police after anti-Israel protests disrupt classes: Report
A masked figure smashes a window to gain entry to Hamilton Hall at Columbia University in New York City on April 30, 2024. (Alex Kent/Getty Images)
“This change is intended to keep our community safe after reports of potential disruptions at Columbia and on college campuses across the country as the new semester begins,” Cass Holloway, the university’s chief operating officer, said in a statement. “We are particularly concerned about non-affiliated parties who may not have the best interests of the Columbia community in mind.”
Under the Orange Rule, anyone without a university ID or pre-registered guest will be prohibited from entering campus and restrictions will be placed on entry and exit.
Amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas in New York City on April 30, 2024, student protesters barricaded the main entrance to Hamilton Hall and secured it with outdoor furniture and rope near a protest camp in support of Palestinians at Columbia University. They blocked the building in defiance of university orders to disperse or face suspension. (Reuters/Caitlin Ochs)
The new rules will take effect on Monday and will continue indefinitely, officials said.
Entry to the campus along 116th Street will be limited to checkpoints at Broadway, Amsterdam Avenue, the Vienna Gate near Morningside Drive, 114th Street between Broadway and Amsterdam, and the Northwest Corner Building at the intersection of 120th Street and Broadway.
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According to the school’s website, there are four colors that correspond to the degree of public access to the campus.
Under the Green Rules, the outdoor campus is open to everyone, but you will need a university ID to enter the buildings. All campus entrances are in use.
Anti-Israel activists block the entrance to Hamilton Hall at Columbia University in New York City on April 30, 2024. (AP/Marko Postigo Strel)
The campus is open to the public under the yellow rule, however some entrances and exits may be closed and others may have time restrictions.
Under the red rule, no guest access is permitted at all, and only students living on campus or essential staff may enter or leave.
NYPD officers stormed into Columbia University buildings and detained pro-Palestinian protesters who had barricaded themselves inside New York City’s iconic Hamilton Hall building on April 30, 2024. According to reports, more than 100 people were arrested. (Selcuk Acar/Anadolu via Getty Images)
The school announced last week that it was considering beefing up security after weeks of protests that have targeted Israeli attacks on Gaza and Jewish students at the Ivy League school in Manhattan.
“president [Minouche] “Mr. Shafiq and the university leadership take seriously our responsibility for the safety and well-being of our entire university community,” a university spokesperson told Fox News Digital. “The university has used the summer break to learn from lessons from the past academic year and plan for the next academic year.”
A pro-Palestinian demonstrator holds a flag on the roof of Hamilton Hall at Columbia University, Tuesday, April 30, 2024, in New York City. (Yuki Iwamura/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The school faced criticism over its response to the agitators who camped on its lawns and were accused of sparking anti-Semitic confrontations, with some faculty members defending the group. And even blocks They blocked other students and members of the press from entering their campsite.
Masked agitators barricaded themselves inside Hamilton Hall at Columbia University in New York City on April 30, 2024. Police swept through the facility, arresting dozens of people who had blocked the doors with furniture and iron chains. (Alex Kent/Getty Images)
Last month, the university also Three senior staff members fired He was accused of sharing anti-Semitic text messages.
The New York Police Department arrested dozens of pro-Palestinian students at Columbia University in the early morning hours of April 30, 2024, after they barricaded themselves in a building in Hamilton Hall near the Gaza solidarity camp in New York City. (Selcuk Acar/Anadolu via Getty Images)
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“As part of this consultation process, we are looking at various ways to supplement our public safety capabilities, while taking into account the fact that the Columbia Police Department, unlike many peer agencies, does not have its own police force, to strengthen the department’s skills and training in de-escalation techniques, expand the department’s capacity to manage a range of incidents and reduce reliance on the NYPD,” the spokesperson said.
That could include adding additional police officers with arrest powers to school public safety departments. The Wall Street Journal Reported.
