American university threatens to expel students over radical anti-war protests

Columbia University threatened to evict students who 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, hindering instruction and preparation for final exams," Columbia University said in a statement on April 30.

Columbia University said the students who participated in the protest chose to escalate tensions and that the university's top priority was to restore order and security there. "Students who occupy campus buildings will be expelled," Columbia University warned.

Earlier, dozens of protesters smashed windows, stormed Hamilton Hall at Columbia University in New York and unfurled banners renaming it "Hind Hall." Hind is 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 from 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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