On Thursday, Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD) held a picket line in front of the Barnard main gates, demanding the reinstatement of two expelled Barnard students.

Student protesters picketed outside the Barnard gates Thursday, demanding the students expelled for disrupting a History of Modern Israel class be reinstated. CUAD posted the call to picket on their Instagram Tuesday. CUAD described the expulsions as the “first expulsion[s] for pro-Palestine protest at Columbia” and “first expulsion for political protest since 1968.” This picket follows Wednesday’s sit-in in Milbank Hall, which had the same demands for a reversal of the expulsions.

Heavy police presence around Barnard’s campus started early Wednesday morning, with fences set up in front of the main gates in preparation for the picket. Barnard administration also announced the campus would adopt Level C access restrictions for the day, allowing only BC and CU ID holders to enter through the main gates. At 12:40 pm, protesters started gathering in front of the Barnard gates, where they quickly grew in number, reaching over 100 people. Picketers carried drums and megaphones, and held signs reading “Long Live Hind’s Hall,” “Judaism condemns the state of ‘Israel’ and its atrocities,” “We dream of a world not threatened by destruction,” “Rosenbury Shame On U,” and “Anti Zionism is not Anti Semitism.”

Demonstrators hold signs and gather outside Barnard gates on 117th St.

NYPD officers brought in more barricades, which they slowly moved towards the street, forcing protesters to occupy a smaller picket space. While walking in a circle around the picket line, protesters chanted “It is right to rebel, Barnard College go to hell,” “Long live Hind’s Hall, every fascist state will fall,” and “There is only one solution, intifada revolution.” At around 1:12 pm, the NYPD ordered protesters to disperse, citing that they were affecting the “safe flow of traffic,” and continued moving the fences to condense the area available to demonstrators.

On the north side of the Barnard gates, next to the picket line, around 30 counter-protesters with Israeli flags gathered, holding signs that read “We just want to go to class,” and “Stop negotiating with aggressors and stand up for our students.” The counter-protest featured several speakers, including Columbia Business School Assistant Professor Shai Davidai. One of the speakers said that “the administration is negotiating with terrorism,” while another stated: “We are demanding a sit-in with the administration, that’s why we’re here today.” The speakers criticized the fact that those who took part in the Milbank sit-in had not been expelled, and chanted “Consequences now.”

Shai Davidai speaks at a counter-protest held on the north side of the Barnard gates.

During the picket, organizers shared updates about the plans for negotiations with Barnard administration that were agreed upon during Wednesday’s sit-in. According to a report by the Columbia Daily Spectator, the speaker described student negotiators as having arrived to campus today prepared to speak with administration in “good-faith.” However, the speaker said Barnard Dean Leslie Grinage altered the terms of their negotiation meeting “less than an hour” before it was set to begin. Bwog has reached out to the Office of the Dean for comment.

At around 2:45 pm, protesters began marching around Barnard’s campus, followed by NYPD officers. One demonstrator was reportedly arrested, with a video posted on X showing police surrounding and apprehending the individual.

Authored by Bwog Staff.

Editor-in-Chief Madeline Douglas and Bwog Staff contributed to this report.

Photos by Staff Writer Sasha Forrest.