‘LINE IN THE SAND’: Barnard College president publishes op-ed condemning unruly anti-Israel protesters who disrupted campus
‘Disrupting classes and defacing buildings to intimidate and divide our community is not academic exploration. It is a betrayal of the goals and sanctity of higher education,’ Rosenbury wrote.
Following Rosenbury’s op-ed, yet another protest took place at Barnard College, during which a bomb threat was issued to the school.
The President of Barnard College, an affiliate of Columbia University in New York, recently published an op-ed condemning anti-Israel activists who took over a building on campus.
The protesters in question invaded and occupied Milbank Hall at Barnard College’s campus on Feb. 26. They had launched their protest to advocate against Barnard College’s expulsion of two students who disrupted a class on Israel in January.
On Monday, Barnard College President Laura Ann Rosenbury published an article in The Chronicle of Higher Education proclaiming her “line in the sand” against disruptive protests.
[RELATED: Barnard College professor expresses support for anti-Israel activists who attacked and hospitalized school worker]
Declaring that “[h]igher education is at an inflection point,” Rosenbury called the initial January disruption of the class on Israel–the one that eventually led to the expulsion of some of the students responsible, as well as the current series of protests–a “calculated act of intimidation.”
She tied the class invasion to other disruptions caused by the group Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD), which she said “operate in the shadows, hiding behind masks and Instagram posts with Molotov cocktails aimed at Barnard buildings, antisemitic tropes about wealth, influence, and ‘Zionist billionaires,’ and calls for violence and disruption at any cost.”
Rosenbury blamed CUAD for instigating the Feb. 26 protest, stating members of the group “caused $30,000 in damages.”
Vowing that Barnard College will “vigorously pursue discipline” against those responsible, she continued: “To those who hide behind masks, we invite you to step forward, not in anonymity but in dialogue. We welcome respectful conversation in a space of shared learning and accountability.”
Rosenbury stated that supporting Barnard College’s mission “means removing from our community those who refuse to share our values of respect, inclusion, and academic excellence,” and concluded: “Disrupting classes and defacing buildings to intimidate and divide our community is not academic exploration. It is a betrayal of the goals and sanctity of higher education.”
Two days after the op-ed’s publication, another protest took place at Barnard, as more anti-Israel demonstrators invaded the Milstein Library on campus on Wednesday.
The new group of activists chanted anti-Israel slogans and put up posters targeting college leadership. They refused to leave, even after being warned that the school received a bomb threat, and were eventually cleared out by the NYPD, which also arrested approximately nine of the activists.
Barnard College Vice President for Development and Alumnae Relations Michael Farley sent a message saying that “we have learned that none of the individuals arrested on our campus Wednesday evening are Barnard students.”
Footage of the protests was shared on X by several accounts.
DISCLOSE! DIVEST! WE WILL NOT STOP WE WILL NOT REST! https://t.co/s0B4bG51XN pic.twitter.com/1idcCHchLL
— Unity of Fields (@unityoffields) March 5, 2025
Campus Reform has reached out to Barnard College for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.
