No ban, no wall!

UPDATED 7:06 p.m:

Hundreds gathered on Low beginning at 5 pm this evening to protest Trump’s immigration ban. The protest lasted until 6:20 pm (though scheduled to end at 6). Starting now, protesters are taking the subway to 59th Street and Columbus Circle to march downtown. This march will include students from five different NYC colleges.

The protest included speakers from various campus organizations, including the Muslim Students Association, CU Iranian Society, and several others; as well as undocumented students and professors.

One speaker demanded, “Where’s Lee Bollinger? Shame!” and announced, “We call upon the Columbia administration to stand up against this shameful executive order.”

A professor noted that, “Islamophobia and antisemitism are two sides of the same coin.”

A member of CU Iranian Society said, “We have students here who are unable to go home. We have students abroad who are unable to come back.”

Muslim Students Association announced their support for those affected by the ban, as well as solidarity with other minority students. They will be hosting a prayer service on Low on Friday from 1:00 to 1:45 pm.

A flyer was handed out at the event, associated with the twitter account AcademicsVsBan, asking protesters to sign a petition of academics against the immigration ban. Over 200 Columbia/Barnard professors have signed the petition.

Two helicopters hovered over the area for a large part of the protest, and several reporters/news vans are lined up outside the 116th street gates.

The event was advertised on Facebook as hosted by the Graduate Workers of Columbia union, with over 3.4 people invited, 1.1 k attending, and 760 interested.

You can check our twitter account for live updates, as well as a live video of some of the speakers.

Photos via Sarah Dahl and Betsy Ladyzhets