Latest news with #TheColumbiaSpectator
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Columbia Just Made Its Biggest Free Speech Violation Yet
Columbia University's crackdown on free speech just got even worse: The school tried to suspend four student journalists who covered a pro-Palestinian protest at Butler Library this week, according to The Columbia Spectator. Columbia College and Barnard College issued interim suspensions to one reporter at the Spectator and three student journalists at WKCR, the student-run radio station that has provided consistent on-the-ground coverage of the student demonstrations at the university—including the massive raid by police at the Gaza solidarity protest in Hamilton Hall last year. Disciplinary emails obtained by the Spectator cited 'information received' from Public Safety, which indicated that Sawyer Huckabee (class of 2026), Natalie Lahr (class of 2028), Celeste Gamble (class of 2027), and Spectator reporter Luisa Sukkar (class of 2026) had been involved in the demonstration in the Lawrence A. Wien Reading Room at Butler Library Wednesday afternoon. However, the student journalists at WCKR wore prominently displayed press placards and Huckabee identified herself as a journalist to public safety officers before leaving the building, the Spectator reported. New York City Police were dispatched to the university, and 78 students were arrested. Columbia lifted its suspension on one reporter only five hours after its initial notification Thursday afternoon, but the other three students remained suspended until Friday at 9 a.m. In an email to alumni Wednesday, Acting President Claire Shipman touted a commitment to free speech while admitting that the university had called the police on its own students. Shipman also made the disturbing move of blaming the protesters for the targeting of its international students. 'I am deeply disturbed at the idea that, at a moment when our international community feels particularly vulnerable, a small group of students would choose to make our institution a target,' Shipman wrote. But it's the institution, not the students, that has refused to shield its own community from the Trump administration's immigration and free speech crackdown. After Donald Trump rescinded $400 million in federal funding, the university administration agreed to the president's outrageous demands for a complete overhaul of the school's protest policies, as well as the adoption of a new definition of antisemitism, among several other concessions that severely undermined academic independence from the federal government. Secretary of State Marco Rubio wrote in a post on X Wednesday night that the administration was 'reviewing the visa status of the trespassers and vandals who took over Columbia University's library.' 'Pro-Hamas thugs are no longer welcome in our great nation,' he added.
Yahoo
27-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Pro-Palestine protesters occupy Barnard College, disrupting classes
(NewsNation) — Pro-Palestine protesters staged a sit-in at Barnard College's Milbank Hall on Wednesday, disrupting classes and demanding the reinstatement of two expelled students, The Columbia Spectator reported. The demonstration began around 4 p.m. ET near Dean Leslie Grinage's office, with protesters chanting 'Grinage, Grinage you can't hide' and 'Dean Grinage, we know you, you expel your students, too.' According to Columbia University Apartheid Divest, the protesters demanded 'the immediate reversal' of two student expulsions and a public meeting with Barnard President Laura Rosenbury, as well as Grinage. Bill O'Reilly details Trump's vision for Gaza after speaking with him In a statement to NewsNation, Barnard spokesperson Robin Levine said that 'a small group of masked protesters forcibly entered Milbank Hall and physically assaulted a Barnard employee, sending them to the hospital.' The statement added that protesters 'encouraged others to enter campus without identification, showing blatant disregard for the safety of our community.' CUAD claims the students were expelled for participating in a Jan. 21 disruption of a History of Modern Israel class, The Columbia Spectator reported. 'We have taken the administration completely off guard! They will have no peace until we have justice,' CUAD wrote on Instagram. Barnard officials offered to meet with three 'unmasked and uncovered' Barnard students as negotiators, but required ID checks and the presence of a witness and security officer. Protesters countered with demands for amnesty for all demonstrators and no video recording of the meeting, The Columbia Spectator reported. Will the SAVE Act keep married women from voting? Columbia University distanced itself from the incident, stating: 'Barnard College is a separate institution from Columbia University, although it is affiliated. Columbia is not responsible for security on Barnard's campus.' Protesters voted hourly on whether to continue the sit-in, The Columbia Spectator reported. By 7:28 p.m., they had decided to remain until at least 8:30 p.m., with Barnard threatening 'additional, necessary measures' if protesters did not leave by 9:30 p.m. The protesters also wrote 'For Hind' on the dean's office door, referencing Hind Rajab, a 6-year-old Palestinian girl killed by the Israeli military in January 2024. In April 2024, protesters occupied Columbia's Hamilton Hall and renamed it 'Hind's Hall.' Barnard told faculty to cancel or relocate classes scheduled in Milbank Hall after 5 p.m. CUAD announced that more protests were scheduled for Thursday. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
