Columbia University threatens to evict students who have occupied its buildings to protest the war in the Gaza Strip.
"Disruptive behavior on campus poses a threat to many of our Jewish students and faculty, and is a distraction, disrupting instruction and preparation for final exams," Columbia University said in a statement on April 30.
Columbia University said the students who took part in the protest chose to escalate the situation and that the university's top priority was to restore order and security. "Students who occupy campus buildings will be expelled," Columbia University warned.
Earlier, dozens of protesters smashed windows and stormed Hamilton Hall at Columbia University in New York, unfurling banners that renamed it "Hind Hall." Hind was the name of a 6-year-old Palestinian child killed in Israel's military campaign in the Gaza Strip.
Protesting students hold up a banner to rename Hamilton Hall at Columbia University in New York to Hind Hall on April 30. Photo: Reuters
The protesters blocked the entrance to the auditorium, forming a barricade with their arms around each other and chanting pro-Palestinian slogans. They ignored an ultimatum issued by Columbia University the day before that students protesting against the war in Gaza could be suspended or arrested.
A protester who identified himself as a graduate student said there were about 60 students in Hamilton Hall.
White House spokesman John Kirby on April 30 condemned the non-peaceful forms of student protests, calling the occupation of campus buildings "the wrong approach."
The wave of student protests against the war in the Gaza Strip in the US continues to be complicated. US police have arrested hundreds of students and cleared out protest tents set up by students at universities across the country.
Ngoc Anh (According to Reuters, AP )
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