On Monday, Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD) held a protest outside Barnard’s main gates calling for divestment from Israel after circulating posts on Instagram reading “Barnard First, Columbia Next.” Barnard President Laura Rosenbury described the posts as “inflammatory” with “violent imagery” in an email to students announcing restricted campus access ahead of the protest.

On Monday, December 9 at 2 pm, pro-Palestinian protesters gathered at the Barnard gates on 117th and Broadway in a demonstration targeted at the College. While the protest was originally scheduled for Futter Field, it was ultimately held outside the Barnard gates. 

Before the Protest

In advance of the protest, Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD) posted an announcement of “the first of many actions as [they] rally against Barnard College,” which they described as “the weak link of Columbia.” Depicting Barnard as “the first domino to fall,” CUAD called for support at Monday’s protest. They specified Barnard trustees’ roles in the College’s investments , citing Francine LeFrak, Cheryl Milstein, and Diana Vagelos. Barnard’s $252 million in projected debt was highlighted as an example of “the enemy” being “weak and afraid.” The CUAD Instagram account has since been suspended. 

On the evening of December 8, Barnard President Laura Rosenbury sent an email to the Barnard community announcing heightened campus security measures. She stated, “Inflammatory posts with violent imagery and specific calls for action against the Barnard College community have been circulating on social media,” writing that violence and destruction of property violate the College’sCode of Conduct. 

A Barnard College spokesperson told Bwog after the protest, “In the days leading up to today’s protest on Broadway, calls for action across social media featured violent, disturbing imagery, including a Molotov cocktail aimed directly at a Barnard building. The College has zero tolerance for any behavior that jeopardizes the safety and well-being of our campus community. The measures we took today protected our students, faculty and staff and avoided the disruption of academic activities on the last day of classes.”

In her email, Rosenbury stated that campus access would be limited only to the main gates at 117th and Broadway, unless individuals have ADA accommodations. She stated that the only people permitted on campus would be Barnard ID holders, Columbia faculty and staff, Columbia ID holders with Kosher meal plans (due to Hewitt Dining’s Kosher offerings), and Columbia ID holders and TAs who have a Monday class on Barnard’s campus.

Rosenbury also wrote that in order to check IDs, individuals wearing face coverings may be asked to remove them unless they were represented in their ID photo. She stated that individuals with bags may be asked to undergo a bag search. If someone “refuses to comply with this request,” they will not be allowed on campus or will be asked to leave. 

On the morning of  December 9, the line to get into Barnard’s campus stretched nearly three blocks and was around fifteen minutes long. Meanwhile, the College installed a security camera on top of the guardhouse in front of the main gates. 

Shortly before the protest, Columbia Rules Administrator and Political Science professor Gregory Wawro sent an email to the Columbia community indirectly addressing protest activity on campus. He stated, “During this critical period of the semester, the risk of disruption of academic activity by protests and demonstrations is more pronounced. Such disruptions would constitute violations of the Rules of University Conduct and would be processed accordingly.” 

Bwog reached out to the University for comment regarding Wawro’s email. Wawro elaborated, “Part of the job of the Rules Administrator is to help individuals understand how they can avoid Rules violations while exercising their rights to demonstrate. The Rules indicate activities that might be considered violations; these may be particularly disruptive during the study and final exam periods, such as causing noise that substantially hinders others who may be studying for exams or drafting final papers, or physically preventing access to or use of a University facility (e.g., to attend a scheduled exam session).” 

The Protest 

The protest began at 2 pm, as participants gathered outside the Barnard gates in the pouring rain. Multiple NYPD officers and some Barnard Community Safety personnel surrounded the area, putting up barricades and to contain the crowds and maintain a walking path on the sidewalk. 

Protesters chanted familiar slogans, including “From the river to the sea,” “Disclose, divest, we will not stop we will not rest,” “Globalize the intifada,” and “No peace on stolen land.” Additional chants also included “Open up the gates now,” referring to Barnard and Columbia’s restriction of gate access during protest activity. Calls for the members of Barnard leadership to take action included “Rosebury you’re a liar, you set Palestine on fire,” “Dean Grinage watch your back, Barnard is under attack,” and “Barnard first, Columbia next… we won’t stop till you divest.” 

The crowd displayed signs with messages such as “NYPD, KKK, IOF OFF CAMPUS NOW” and “Bold, Beautiful, bombs dropped.” Another chant, “Long live Hind’s Hall, every fascist state will fall,” echoed throughout the protest. Participants reiterated their solidarity stating, “We will never be free until we’re all free.” Protesters, many of whose heads were covered with keffiyehs, walked closely together and played drums in rhythm with their calls and responses. Pro-Palestine protesters also condemned Barnard’s decision to invite an Israeli speaker to the Diana Center who they claimed “spread Zionist propaganda… on our campus.” Bwog has not been able to confirm which speaker they referred to. 

A counter-protest took place across the barricade on the northern side of the Barnard gate with participants wearing shirts saying “Bring them home” and carrying signs reading #EndJewHate. Two counter-protesters posed for a photo with the Pro-Palestine protest behind them. One counter-protester shouted, “You guys are terrorists and supporting terrorism, you’re all terrorists,” at the Pro-Palestine protesters. Another screamed, “Yelling is not going to help.” Some supporters also wore dog tags resembling the identification tags carried by soldiers.

Outside the Barnard gates, a man wrapped in an Israeli flag yelled to crowds of protesters, saying, “You’re not getting [a free Palestine]” and “You’ve been saying this for 75 years, guys, hasn’t worked yet.” He claimed that Palestine was “never a place to live in the first place.” He was asked to move away from the gates by an NYPD community affairs officer but remained close to the protesters. 

A barrier was placed between protesters and counter-protesters as police presence appeared to increase on the scene. Counter-protesters held signs saying “unapologetically Zionist” and “Israel is not going anywhere,” while wishing passersby a nice day. Columbia professor Shai Davidai was seen watching the protest with a device flashing a light to deter cameras.  Davidai has reportedly been temporarily banned from Columbia because he “repeatedly harassed and intimidated University employees in violation of University policy.”

Meanwhile, police walked through the protests and surrounded the groups. The police corralled students, asking them to move down the street. One officer instructed two others to create a “small pen” for observers. At this point, the crowd extended halfway from the Barnard gates to 116th, a mix of spectators, press, and participants. One protester told another to come inside the barricaded protest rather than stay outside the line near the counter-protestors, saying, “You’re safer in here.” A Bwog reporter was asked to leave the median, with a police officer calling it a “frozen zone,” requiring people to be on the sidewalks instead. 

Protestors distributed a newspaper titled “The New York War Crimes,” and stickers with faces of trustees including one of Jeh Johnson, a trustee of Columbia University. Johnson is a member of the board of directors for both US Steel and Metlife and the former Secretary of Homeland Security. He has also served as a director of Lockheed Martin.

At 2:45 pm, the protest was contained and there free access was restored to the rest of the sidewalk. Participants chanted “We’ll be back” and “I believe that we will win,” with others reminding protesters not to unmask in range of cameras and to not respond to disciplinary notices. The protesters then walked down Broadway toward 116th, turning right on 116th toward Riverside and then again taking a right at Claremont, encircling Barnard’s campus as they marched. Protesters were reportedly seen taping signs to school buildings, which were immediately taken down by school staff. 

At around 3 pm, CU Jafra, the Palestinian Student Committee, stated on Instagram that “cops are barricading and kettling students.” Kettling, the act of corralling protesters into a small area, has a history of controversy throughout the city. In 2023, the NYPD agreed to a legal settlement that would ban kettling. 

By 3:16 pm, most protesters had left the Barnard gates, and students were able to enter and exit campus without obstruction. 

Just before 4 pm, CU Jafra and the Columbia Palestine Solidarity Coalition (CPSC) wrote on Instagram that Barnard is on “TOTAL [sic] lockdown” with “all entrances shut.” Bwog was unable to confirm this claim. Around the same time, Bwog staff spotted approximately 30 police officers walking up 116th with zip ties. The protestors then either dispersed or began to walk south, around the block and to the Claremont side of Barnard. 

Email from Barnard President Laura Rosenbury sent to the Barnard community on Sunday, December 8 at 9:05 pm:

Dear Members of the Barnard Community,

Inflammatory posts with violent imagery and specific calls for action against the Barnard College community have been circulating on social media. 

Any statements that advocate for violence or harm, including the destruction of property, are a direct violation of our code of conduct and are antithetical to the core principles and mission of Barnard. 

In response to the calls of action that have circulated this past weekend, and out of an abundance of caution designed to protect the safety and well-being of our entire community, we will be instituting heightened campus security and access measures for Monday, December 9, 2024. 

Please review all of the measures listed below so that you may plan your day on campus accordingly.

Barnard will continue to be on Level B Campus Access, as described on the Campus Access page, but with the following temporary safety protocols:

For now, we are limiting access due to active concerns for violence on Barnard’s campus.  We must take these concerns seriously to protect our entire community.  

We understand these measures are likely to lead to delays at the main gate, so we ask you to please plan accordingly.  

We will lift the additional restrictions as soon as it is safe to do so.

This is our community, and we are at our best when we are supporting one another.  Let’s come together so that our students and faculty may finish classes and our staff may best meet the needs of our community.

Thank you for your flexibility and patience.  

We will keep you updated as we learn more. 

Very truly yours,

Laura Ann Rosenbury

President, Barnard College

Email from Columbia Rules Administrator Gregory Wawro sent to the Columbia Community on Monday, December 9 at 1:49 pm: 

To the members of the Columbia community,

As we enter this period of study days and final exams, we all must be mindful that our students, faculty, and staff are fully engaged in completing coursework, finishing final papers, preparing for and taking exams, and fulfilling other end-of-year requirements. It is particularly important during these last weeks of the semester that we respect the hard and focused work that our community is immersed in and do all that we can to maintain an academic and campus environment that supports their work. During this critical period of the semester, the risk of disruption of academic activity by protests and demonstrations is more pronounced. Such disruptions would constitute violations of the Rules of University Conduct and would be processed accordingly.

Thank you,

Gregory Wawro

Professor, Department of Political Science

Director, MS Program in Political Analytics

Rules Administrator

Columbia University

He/him/his

Update on Friday, December 13 at 11:38 am: Fixed images that previously did not appear.