On Wednesday, April 23rd, Barnard alumni disrupted the start of the annual Alumni Gala in protest for transparency.

On Wednesday, April 23, alumni of Barnard College disrupted the annual Barnard Alumni Gala, a “high-profile fundraising event for the school.” In a media advisory sent to Bwog on April 22, alumni noted that they would protest an administration that “has spent the last 18 months antagonizing, punishing, and endangering students and their allies.” 

The advisory stated that “institutional violence against student protestors” as well as “attacks on free speech” comprise their main reasons for protesting. It also calls out Barnard donors and trustees, especially Cheryl Milstein (BC ‘82), for funding “Zionist organizations.” 

The protest aimed to follow actions taken by alumni of the School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA). 

A group of around 15 alumni gathered in front of Cipriani, gala’s venue on 42nd St, according to a video posted on X. They held signs reading “We the People want a Free Palestine” as well as “Barnard College alumni of conscience are fed up and disgusted,” emphasizing demands for transparency and action from the government. Some individuals were beating drums and chanting as patrons entered the venue. The group, led by one alumna, ripped up their “hard earned” college diplomas to symbolize their dissatisfaction with Barnard and its leadership. NYPD was also seen around the area, said one woman in the video.

Excerpt of the Media Advisory sent to Bwog on April 22, 2025 at 1:41 pm:

Barnard alumni disrupt the college’s Annual Gala, tear up diplomas in protest of trustees’ treatment of students and funding of Zionist violence

Barnard College is an exemplar of institutional violence against student protestors and attacks on free speech, while trustees fund Zionist organizations. Alumni of conscience are fed up and disgusted by the administration’s actions.

New York, NY — On Tuesday, April 23, starting at 5:30 PM ET, alumni of Barnard College at Columbia University will protest outside of the Barnard Annual Gala, a high-profile fundraising event for the school. Alumni and community members will call attention to Barnard’s stifling of student speech, financial connections to Israel, and collaboration with the broader university as it capitulates to the Trump administration.

Barnard’s administration has spent the last 18 months antagonizing, punishing, and endangering students and their allies as they’ve protested Israel’s genocide in Gaza, deploying the brutality of the NYPD and ICE on campus. Last month, the college expelled three students for their roles in these protests — the first time Columbia students were expelled for protests since 1936. Barnard has also suspended, evicted, and otherwise disciplined numerous students, often without a transparent disciplinary process.

This violence against students is no surprise, as Barnard donors and trustees — including board chair and top honoree at the gala, Cheryl Milstein — fund Zionist organizations like the Anti-Defamation League, hobnob with NYPD’s top brass, and profit enormously from gentrification here in New York City and in Palestine. Their moral bankruptcy is matched by their financial incompetence, as Milstein’s board has driven the school into enormous debt.

Alumni will disrupt the start of the gala, making it impossible for trustees, donors, and guests to enter without hearing calls for financial transparency and amnesty for students. Some alumni will tear up their diplomas, student ID cards, class T-shirts, and other Barnard ephemera.

The action follows a similar protest by alumni of Columbia’s School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) on March 29, calling attention to the university’s complicity as the Trump administration illegally detains students including Mahmoud Khalil, Mohsen Mahdawi, and Yunseo Chung. Like the SIPA alumni, the Barnard demonstrators will call on classmates to withhold donations until the college takes a stand against genocide and protects students’ safety.

More background: https://whathappenedtobarnard.com/ 

WHAT: Barnard College alumni disrupt school’s high-profile fundraising gala

WHO: Multigenerational group of alumni from Barnard College at Columbia University

Barnard College via Bwog Archive