Thursday, March 6, 2025 10:56AM
Josh Einiger has details on the day of protests at Barnard College.
MANHATTAN, New York (WABC) — Tensions boiled over on the Barnard College campus Wednesday as police drove out an encampment of protesters after a bomb threat was called in at the building they were occupying.
The college confirmed in a statement that in the midst of de-escalation efforts, Barnard received a specific threat of a bomb in the Milstein Center.
Police arrested at least nine protesters who allegedly refused to leave.
Barnard College, the affiliate of Columbia across the street, has been besieged by protests for weeks after the school expelled two students it says invaded a Modern Israel History class handing out fliers containing antisemitic imagery.
That led to demands for their reinstatement.
Last week a group took over a classroom building and Wednesday it was the school’s library, where college officials pleaded with protesters to talk.
“We’ve asked you please identify yourselves,” an administrator said.
Only to be drowned out, and in many cases, by masked anonymous demonstrators.
Even the college president got on the phone with them, but the call went nowhere.
“The Dean Grinage and I are happy to meet tomorrow or Friday morning with three unmasked representative and two of our Barnard students and we can talk about this issue and others,” Laura Ann Rosenbury said.
One protester said, “Our demand is to reinstate the expelled students because of how unjust this process has been and that we don’t intend on leaving until that happens.”
In a statement, the school suggested patience is wearing thin.
“Our academic mission is at the heart of what we do, disruptions to that mission are an affront to the purpose of higher education and cannot be tolerated,” the statement said.
Police determined there was no bomb threat in the building and they left, but not before arresting at least nine people.
Despite that, protesters say they are undeterred and likely to come back.
The Barnard Student Government Association released a statement Wednesday night, strongly condemning the presence of the NYPD on campus and calling it an “act of cowardice.”
“Rather than engage in honest dialogue with our ‘community of care,’ you have chosen to betray your community,” the statement said. “In othering students who dissent, Barnard has found itself on the wrong side of their ‘line in the sand.'”
Classes will resume Thursday.
* Get Eyewitness News Delivered
* Download the abc7NY app for breaking news alerts
Submit a tip or story idea to Eyewitness News
Have a breaking news tip or an idea for a story we should cover? Send it to Eyewitness News using the form below. If attaching a video or photo, terms of use apply.
