Columbia University's anti-Israel students have discovered that protest is thirsty work -

The anti-Israel student protesters bringing the United States’ top universities to a standstill may be rabidly fanatical, crashingly ignorant, and possibly even a tiny bit anti-Semitic, but I will say one thing for them: they’ve just provided us with the most hilarious video clip you’ll see all year.

The clip in question, which is going viral on social media, consists of an interview at Columbia University, New York, with a PhD English student – who, in her own words, is writing a dissertation on “theories of the imagination and poetry as interpreted through a Marxian lens in order to update and propose an alternative to historicist ideological critiques of the Romantic imagination”.

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In recent days, however, I don’t suppose she’s had much time to pursue this vital line of inquiry. For Left-wing students at Columbia, there have been far more pressing matters to attend to. Such as illegally occupying a key university building as part of their protests against Israel.

It isn’t just the Israelis who have displeased them, though. They’re also angry with the university authorities. Because, apparently, those authorities have failed to supply them with food and drink to keep them going during their protest.

“Do you want students to die of dehydration and starvation or get severely ill?” wails the student in the clip. “This is, like, basic humanitarian aid we’re asking for.”

In summary: she seems to think that people who illegally occupy a building are entitled to be fed by the people who own it. Perhaps burglars should try this argument. Break into a house during the night, and then moan to the media that the owners didn’t invite them to stay for breakfast.

In their defence, the student says that her comrades “pay for a meal plan here”. No doubt they do. Equally, though, other students pay to be educated. Presumably they, too, are entitled to get what they’ve paid for. But they won’t be able to get it if mobs of Israel-hating hipsters prevent them from attending their lectures.

At any rate, this delightful young woman has given us some glorious entertainment. I love everything about that clip. The pomposity. The entitlement. The spectacular lack of self-awareness. And, in particular, the obscene use of the term “humanitarian aid”, when, far from facing starvation, she and her middle-class friends could easily toddle across the road to buy snacks at the nearest bodega.

Come to think of it, I suspect the reason she used that term is the same reason that so many white, Western protesters go on marches wearing Palestinian-style headdresses while calling for “intifada”. It’s all a form of role-play. Just as little children love pretending to be princesses or pirates, so cossetted Left-wing students love pretending to be persecuted minorities. It’s yet another way to demonstrate how wonderfully empathetic and compassionate they are. (See? We feel your pain. We need humanitarian aid, too. We were so busy protesting yesterday, we missed lunch!)

Then again, the rest of us shouldn’t laugh too hard. These pampered narcissists might not be able to influence events in the Middle East. But they’ll almost certainly influence our future. After all, they’re students at Ivy League universities. America’s educational elite. Which means that, in due course, they’ll be strolling into America’s top jobs, and taking leadership positions in business, the arts, education and politics.

This should worry us all. Because if these mollycoddled brats are America’s future, the West truly is doomed.

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Anti-Israel mob at Columbia reveals exactly what they will target next after taking over academic building

After anti-Israel agitators at Columbia University took over an academic building early Tuesday morning, students and administrators alike have been left to wonder: What’s next?

At approximately 12:30 a.m., more than 100 protesters marched across the academic lawn of Columbia's Manhattan campus and invaded Hamilton Hall, an academic building used by the dean. The mob shattered windows, barricaded doors using tables and chairs, and obscured windows of the facility while continuing calls for Columbia to divest from Israel.

The crowd outside the iconic academic building, named after Revolutionary War hero and America’s Founding Father Alexander Hamilton, gave an indication as to what their next target would be.

"No divestment, no commencement," the group chanted, according to the student newspaper Columbia Spectator, referencing the university’s graduation ceremony that is currently scheduled for Wednesday, May 15.

The students have threatened to derail the commencement and potentially force the university to cancel or postpone the ceremony.

The University of Southern California informed students earlier this week that it was canceling the university's main commencement ceremony as safety concerns mount amid anti-Israel sentiment.

On Tuesday, the protesters dialed up their demonstration by taking over an academic building and the language they used during chants and signs suggests they are not intending to end their disruptions any time soon.

According to Columbia Spectator, students draped flags and banners outside of Hamilton that read: "Gaza Calls, Columbia Falls," "Liberation Education," and "Student Intifada."

The protesters said online that they plan to occupy Hamilton until "Columbia meets every one of our demands."

"Protestors have voiced their intention to remain at Hind’s Hall until Columbia concedes to CUAD’s three demands: divestment, financial transparency, and amnesty," read a statement apparently from the group, posted on X.

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The agitators who linked arms directly outside the building echoed similar sentiments.

The shouting and chanting continued for hours, with students at approximately 2:30 a.m. adding: "No divestment, no commencement."

"We will honor all the martyrs, all the parents, mothers, fathers," protesters chanted early Tuesday morning. "We will honor all the martyrs, all the children, sons, and daughters."

"From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free," they echoed, and: "Palestine will live forever."

Those protesting also chanted: "I believe that we will win."

As Hamilton Hall remained occupied through the morning, Columbia University announced that it would be restricting access to the campus and locking down additional buildings.

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Northwestern University's deal with student protesters offers example of successful negotiations

Tents, flags and other supplies remain at Deering Meadow on Northwestern University's campus in Evanston, Ill. on Tuesday, April 30, 2024, a day after the university and protest organizers announced an agreement which largely ended anti-war demonstrations that have lasted days.

 For five days, the shouts of student protesters and supporters rang out from Northwestern University’s Deering Meadow as they joined demonstrations against the Israel-Hamas war unfolding on college campuses nationwide.

But the meadow on the suburban Chicago campus fell silent hours after student organizers and the school announced an agreement late Monday to curb protest activity in return for the reestablishment of an advisory committee on university investments and other commitments.

By Tuesday, only two unoccupied tents remained, surrounded by abandoned folding chairs, cases of bottled water and other supplies.

By quickly defusing the protests in Evanston and avoiding the longer standoffs that happened on other campuses, the agreement at Northwestern offered an example of successful negotiations between anti-war demonstrators and administrators. Brown University announced a similar deal on Tuesday, while administrators at Johns Hopkins University focused talks on limiting student protests to daytime hours.

Still, the arrangement drew dissent from both sides.

Some who are protesting the war in Gaza condemned the Northwestern agreement as a failure to stick to the original demands of student organizers. Some supporters of Israel said the deal represented “cowardly” capitulation to protesters.

The deal lets protests continue through June 1 but bars all tents except one for aid supplies. The pact also prevents people without ties to Northwestern from participating and requires school permission to use loudspeakers or similar devices, according to copies made public by the school and the student organizers.

University administrations across the country have used a variety of strategies in response to the protests. In some places, police have arrested dozens of people. Elsewhere campus leaders have sought to negotiate over protest strategies while allowing them to continue.

Northwestern said the terms include penalties for students who fail to comply, including suspension.

“This agreement represents a sustainable and de-escalated path forward, and enhances the safety of all members of the Northwestern community while providing space for free expression that complies with University rules and policies,” said a statement from President Michael Schill, Provost Kathleen Hagerty and Vice President for Student Affairs Susan Davis.

The American Jewish Committee and the Anti-Defamation League Midwest criticized the university, arguing that the deal “succumbed to the demands of a mob” and did little to make Jewish students on campus feel more secure.

The pro-Palestinian tent encampments began sweeping across the country after a crackdown at Columbia University when police arrested more than 100 protesters on April 18. On Tuesday night, Columbia called police back again to clear protesters who had occupied a campus building.

Around the country, protest organizers at U.S. universities say they are building a peaceful movement aimed at defending Palestinian rights and protesting the war. One of several groups that planned the anti-war protests at Northwestern was Jewish Voice for Peace.

In Instagram posts about the deal, protest organizers said the reestablishment of the advisory committee is a first step toward divestment — an original demand that the school stop investing in all companies profiting from the war.

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University representatives did not reply to messages seeking more information on the advisory committee's role or the history of a similar body at Northwestern. The agreement said the committee would include students, faculty and staff.

The protest organizers also noted Northwestern's commitment to build a house for Muslim student activities and to raise money for scholarships going to Palestinian undergraduates.

But the organizers seemed to anticipate disappointment. They said they view the deal as just a beginning and that they will continue to pressure administrators.

“We have seen incredible momentum grow in support of our movement in these past few days and will not let it go to waste,” a post on the NU Divestment Coalition's Instagram account read. “We consider this to be a prime moment to take stock, recharge, plan, and build power. But we have much work ahead of us and we will not stop now.”

Eden Melles, a graduate student among the Northwestern protest organizers, said Tuesday that reestablishing the advisory committee is “huge," but she also understands criticism of the agreement.

“I know that a lot of students and people, community members, are disappointed in this agreement,” Melles said. “But I just want to say that there’s things in this agreement that I think a lot of Palestinian, Arab, Muslim students have been fighting for for a long time. But this agreement by no means, you know, suggests that this movement is dying or that we’re stopping.”

She said organizers on each campus have to make their own decisions when negotiating with administrators, not follow an exact model created by another school.

Brown University on Tuesday became the second school to announce a deal aiming to end student protests.

Administrators and student organizers of the protest on the Providence, Rhode Island, campus said President Christina Paxson had committed to an October vote by the school's governing board on the students' divestment proposal. Protest organizers removed their tents Tuesday.

In Baltimore, leaders of Johns Hopkins University announced Tuesday that they had reached an agreement with student protesters who started setting up an encampment Monday evening. After several hours of discussion, they said, students agreed to clear the encampment and resume protesting only during daytime hours.

“Our conversations were frank and constructive,” university President Ron Daniels and Provost Ray Jayawardhana wrote in a message to the school community. “We are immensely relieved at this peaceful and productive resolution.”

But protesters with the group Hopkins Justice Collective released statements saying their demonstration continued through the night and wouldn't end “until demands are met.”

“We are not letting Johns Hopkins shut down our encampment,” they wrote in a social media post. “We are still here.”

UNC fraternity brothers defend reinstated American flag from campus mob who replaced with Palestinian flag

A moment of patriotism on the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill campus Tuesday has captured the nation's attention.

Anti-Israel protesters on Tuesday morning successfully replaced the American flag on Chapel Hill's quad — which had been flying at half-mast after four Charlotte officers were killed in the line of duty Monday — with a Palestinian flag before UNC Chancellor Lee Roberts responded with law enforcement officers to return the American flag to its place.

Activists, some of whom were not affiliated with the nation's first public university, attempted to take it down a second time but were met with resistance from a smaller group of students.

"Today was a sad yet empowering day at Chapel Hill," student Guillermo Estrada, class of 2027, said in a Tuesday post on X. "When I walked to class, I saw the Palestinian flag raised on our quad flag pole, and was immediately upset at the act that these ‘protestors’ had made. I cannot say I am fully educated on the Israel/Palestine conflict but it upset me that my country's flag was disrespected in order to advocate for another."

Estrada added that Chancellor Roberts and officers who replaced the flag the first time "were met with profanity, middle fingers, thrown bottles, rocks, and water." Videos circulating on social media show a group of students singing the National Anthem and chanting "USA" as the American flag was returned to the pole.

"When the flag was raised once again, the Greek community began singing the National anthem. As the Chancellor left, the quad erupted into chaos as protestors began removing the flag once again, preparing to destroy it," Estrada continued. "My fraternity brother and others ran over to hold it up, in order for it not to touch the ground. People began throwing water bottles at us, rocks, sticks, calling us profane names. We stood for an hour defending the flag so many fight to protect."

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Estrada went on to explain that he comes from an immigrant family and a "military community" where he "saw first hand the sacrifices they make."

"I will not stand for the disrespect these ‘protestors’ cause for the sake of another country," Estrada wrote. "My LDOC will be memorable in knowing that my fraternity brothers and others fought to keep the flag up. But it was also be memorable in knowing that so many yearn to disrespect it."

The student's post went viral, garnering more than 25,000 likes as of Monday morning. A GoFundMe created for Chapel Hill's Pi Kappa Phi chapter has raised more than $57,000 "to throw this frat the party they deserve."

A barricade has since been established around the flagpole. 

Chancellor Roberts told WRAL in a live broadcast of the protests, "That flag will stay there as long as I am chancellor," as The Carolina Journal first reported. 

"Tell students that we will keep them safe from a small minority of students who want to disrupt their experience. This university is for everybody," he said.

The university on Tuesday confirmed that approximately 30 protesters were detained after they allegedly refused to leave an encampment on the quad despite receiving a statement from university administrators telling them to clear the site by 6 a.m. or face expulsion.

At 6 a.m., UNC Police "calmly approached the group and detained approximately 30 people who refused to leave. During that time, the protesters attempted to block the UNC Police vehicles by standing in front of them and throwing items at officers. Polk Place was cleared in approximately 45 minutes. Afterwards, UNC Facilities cleared the area of significant debris," the university said in a statement.

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"After the area was cleared, the remaining protesters escalated their tactics, attempting to forcibly enter South Building by pushing officers and refusing to comply with requests from Facilities and UNC Police," the university continued.

"For the last several months, we have spoken regularly and respectfully with the demonstrators on our campus, consistently supporting their right to assemble and express their views. We have also clearly communicated the University's long-standing policies on the use of shared public spaces. We have been clear that students and community members can assemble and make their voices heard, but University policies must be followed," Roberts and Provost Chris Clemens said in their statement.

Chapel Hill's school-wide alert system, Alert Carolina, issued a "critical" advisory on Tuesday notifying students that classes and non-mandatory activities were canceled in the afternoon.

Tuition for North Carolina residents at the elite public university comes to just under $9,000 and just under $40,000 for out-of-state students.

The protests at Chapel Hill come as students at elite schools across the country protest against Israel and in support of Gaza amid the ongoing war in the Middle East, with activists setting up encampments on campuses, occupying buildings, clashing with law enforcement and resisting arrest. The protests began at Columbia University and have since spread across the country to schools everywhere from Massachusetts to Tennessee, Texas to California.

College protests updates: Columbia expels students occupying building

Protests have broken out at colleges and universities across the country in connection with the war in Gaza.

Many pro-Palestinian protesters are calling for their colleges to divest of funds from Israeli military operations, while some Jewish students on the campuses have called the protests antisemitic and said they are scared for their safety.

The student protests -- some of which have turned into around-the-clock encampments -- have erupted throughout the nation following arrests and student removals at Columbia University in New York City. Students at schools including Yale University, New York University, Harvard University, University of Texas at Austin, University of Southern California and more have launched protests.

Columbia protesters say school 'isolating' them with no access to food, water, bathrooms

Columbia University's Students for Justice in Palestine hit back at the university saying its decision to limit campus access to students living in on-campus dorms means protesters will not have access to food, water or bathrooms without swiping in.

Protesters are calling for students to join them for a rally at the occupied building they have renamed Hind's Hall at 2 p.m.

Apr 30, 1:32 PM

Columbia threatens 'consequences' for protesters who occupied building

Columbia University has threatened student protesters with "clear consequences" after protesters occupied a building in an escalating standoff. Students defied a 2 p.m. deadline to disperse Monday.

Students occupying the building face expulsion, the university warned.

"We made it very clear yesterday that the work of the University cannot be endlessly interrupted by protesters who violate the rules. Continuing to do so will be met with clear consequences. Protesters have chosen to escalate to an untenable situation—vandalizing property, breaking doors and windows, and blockading entrances—and we are following through with the consequences we outlined yesterday," Columbia said in a statement.

Students who did not commit to the terms Columbia's proposed agreement to vacate the encampment by 2 p.m. Monday have been suspended.

"Those students will be restricted from all academic and recreational spaces and may only access their individual residence. Seniors will be ineligible to graduate," Columbia said.

"This is about responding to the actions of the protesters, not their cause," Columbia said.

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Apr 30, 1:15 PM

Columbia limits access to Morningside campus

Columbia University said it has limited access to its Morningside campus except to students residing in seven residential buildings, labs and employees who provide essential services.

The school has also limited access into and out of the building to one gate, closing all other campus entry points.

The restrictions will remain in place "until circumstances allow otherwise," Columbia said.

New York Police Department officers said they would not enter the property unless Columbia requests it, or there is an imminent threat.

Apr 30, 12:31 PM

82 protesters arrested at Virginia Tech

Virginia Tech said it has cleared an encampment on campus and arrested 82 protesters for trespassing, after refusing to comply with university policies.

"Virginia Tech strongly supports free speech, even when the content of that speech may be disagreeable to some. However, those rights do not extend beyond the point where they interfere with the rights of others, violate our policies, the Code of Virginia, or federal laws and/or create a threat to safety for others," Virginia Tech President Tim Sands said in a statement.

Meanwhile, Virginia Tech Muslim Student Association said in a letter the 91 students faculty and staff were arrested for peacefully protesting.

"As we reach the end of the semester, 7 months after Oct. 7, we are finding our voices still unheard. We are waiting for your support of us and Palestine," the Virginia Tech MSA said in a statement.

-ABC News' Nadine El-Bawab and Kerem Inal

Apr 30, 12:00 PM

Cal Poly Humboldt clears occupied buildings, arrests 25 protesters

California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt said it has cleared two campus buildings that had been occupied by protesters for over a week and arrested 25 people.

"Those arrested faced a range of different charges depending on individual circumstances including unlawful assembly, vandalism, conspiracy, assault of police officers, and others. In addition, students could face discipline for conduct violations while any University employees arrested could face disciplinary action," Cal Poly said in a statement.

The university called the occupation of the two buildings "criminal activity" and said there were "serious concerns it would spread even further on campus."

"This morning’s enforcement action was determined to be necessary to restore order and to address the lawlessness and dangerous conditions that had developed. What was occurring was not free expression or a protest," the university said in a statement.

The campus will remain closed until May 10.

Apr 30, 11:46 AM

Northwestern reaches deal with students, faculty to end encampment, reveal investments

Northwestern University announced it has reached a deal with pro-Palestinian protesters, ending an encampment of students and faculty, but allowing peaceful demonstrations to continue through June 1.

The university said it would "answer questions from any internal stakeholder about holdings, held currently or within the last quarter, to the best of its knowledge and to the extent legally possible" -- meeting a key call from divestment protesters and students around the country who are seeking more transparency over universities' investments.

Northwestern will also reestablish an Advisory Committee on Investment Responsibility in the fall, which will include representatives from students, faculty and staff.

The university also pledged more inclusivity, funding two Palestinian faculty members and the full cost of attendance for five Palestinian undergraduate students annually, as well as a commitment to raising funds to sustain the program beyond this commitment.

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Under the agreement, Northwestern says tents will be removed immediately but one aid tent will be allowed to remain. Protesters will need to suspend the use of "non-approved" amplified sound." Protesters who refuse to follow the agreement will be suspended and non-affiliated individuals must leave campus.

Apr 30, 11:12 AM

UConn removes encampment, makes arrests after protesters refuse to leave

The University of Connecticut cleared an encampment of pro-Palestinian protesters early Tuesday after they refused orders to disperse. UConn has not yet revealed the number of arrests and charges.

UConn said that protests were permitted but setting up tents violated university guidelines.

"The group was warned multiple times over a period of days that while they were free to be in the space and exercise their free speech rights, the guidelines needed to be followed and the tents needed to be taken down. This was ignored," UConn said in a statement.

"UConn Police directed them four times on Tuesday morning to remove the tents and disperse, and they again repeatedly ignored the directives. Officers then entered the site to remove the tents and tarps, and to arrest those who refused compliance," UConn said in a statement.

-ABC News' Mark Osborne

Apr 30, 10:57 AM

Reporter detained while covering protest on Cal Poly campus

Adelmi Ruiz, a reporter for Redding, California, ABC affiliate KRCR, was detained at Cal Poly Humboldt while filming police approaching an encampment of pro-Palestinian protesters.

A livestream showed Ruiz filming police in riot gear approaching protesters, who could be heard chanting, when an officer asks her to come over and tells her they need her out of the way.

An officer then tells Ruiz to put her phone away and put her hands behind her back because he is going to put her in flex cuffs -- plastic handcuffs used by police for protesters. Ruiz identifies herself as a reporter multiple times but is still arrested.

"You had an opportunity to leave. You were told multiple times to leave otherwise you were gonna be arrested," the officer says, according to a livestream which continued after Ruiz placed her phone in her pocket.

She responded that she was on assignment covering the protest.

"Find a different job if this causes you to break the law," the officer says.

As she is escorted away, Ruiz can be heard asking for help.

The Humboldt County sheriff has confirmed Ruiz will not face any charges.

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Apr 30, 9:42 AM

17 protesters arrested at University of Utah, encampment cleared

The University of Utah has removed an encampment of pro-Palestinian protesters and arrested 17 people after the university said protesters do not have a right to set up encampments on campus property and threatened to disperse them.

About a dozen tents, stashes of water, food and toilet paper were removed from the encampment.

The university had issued warnings to students, staff and faculty members telling them to remove their encampments, or face consequences, including arrests.

The university had threatened criminal trespass and disorderly conduct charges, termination for faculty and staff and discipline for students ranging from probation to suspension against those who refused to leave the encampment.

Apr 30, 4:40 AM

Columbia protesters occupy campus hall

Pro-Palestinian protesters at Columbia University occupied a hall on campus early Tuesday, hours after school officials ordered the dispersal of a protest encampment.

Videos viewed by ABC News appeared to show protesters creating a barricade with metal chairs outside Hamilton Hall after midnight.

Several were seen in the videos unrolling protest posters from one of the building's balconies.

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It was unclear how many demonstrators had occupied the hall, which is on Amsterdam Avenue. The Columbia Spectator, a campus newspaper, reported the people who were inside were working to block the building's exits with tables, chairs and zip-ties.