The College Fix

Dean had to ask protesters to go to the bathroom

It was absolute pandemonium at Barnard College in recent days as a mob of pro-Palestinian students forcibly took over a building to protest the expulsion of two of their comrades, videos posted on social media show.

A group of masked demonstrators forcibly entered Milbank Hall and physically assaulted two employees, sending one to the hospital, according to reports, which noted some classes were canceled and walls were vandalized as the demonstrators issued demands.

A 41-year-old employee said he was “shoved by numerous individuals and complained of pain about the body,” NBC reported, adding he was taken to a nearby hospital and is in stable condition, while police said no one was arrested.

The Washington Free Beacon reported that the melee included violence and mayhem:

Video footage shows droves of keffiyeh-clad student radicals shoving their way into the campus building, Milbank Hall, physically clashing with at least two outnumbered security guards and hospitalizing one. Inside, the agitators held a dean captive, covered up security cameras, broke into an office, vandalized walls, and forced class cancellations. Their main demand: reverse the expulsion of two Barnard students who stormed an Israeli history class at Columbia last month, targeting Jewish students with anti-Semitic flyers.

Unity of Fields has posted a video of protestors “breaching” a @BarnardCollege building. @SecRubio has urged the DoJ to investigate Unity of Fields for domestic terrorism, and yet they’re still active on our campus.pic.twitter.com/nVgfmPi1ap

— Columbia Jewish & Israeli Students (@CUJewsIsraelis) February 26, 2025

The poor Chair of Barnard’s Classics Department, Kristina Milnor, had to meet with the Barnard’s Occupation due to being the closest staff member to this sit-in.

She communicated the expectations that Barnard President Rosenbury had if she were to meet with the protesters.

-No… pic.twitter.com/yg1uO1P9eN

— Stu (@thestustustudio) February 27, 2025

A Columbia student confirmed to the Washington Free Beacon that campus public safety called the New York Police Department but said officers were not given entry because Barnard was “hesitant to do anything that could lead to physical confrontation.”

For hours, demonstrators with Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD)—the Ivy League’s most notorious anti-Semitic student group—and Columbia’s Students for Justice in Palestine chapter sat in rows outside the office of Barnard dean Leslie Grinage, demanding amnesty for the two expelled students.

At one point, Grinage asked if she’d be allowed to use the bathroom, given that she had been sequestered in her office for hours. The student radicals jokingly told her no but eventually allowed her, booing her on the way to the restroom.

MORE: from Barnard College takoever. Columbia and Barnard students have vandalized all of the walls near the DEI and dean’s offices. It has now been over 4 hours since the building was stormed and it looks like they brought snacks with them (Nature Valley bars seen in background) https://t.co/BjOXLEv4yN pic.twitter.com/dmfAOlKZ4l

— Jessica Costescu (@JessicaCostescu) February 27, 2025

The controversy stems from Barnard’s decision to expel two protesters who disrupted a History of Modern Israel class to pass out anti-Israel propaganda at the start of the semester.

The anti-Israel protesters had barged into the Israeli history class at Columbia University last month to pass out pro-Hamas flyers that showed the Star of David being destroyed and an Israeli flag on fire, The College Fix previously reported.

This week’s protest at Barnard ended as students left the building and marched the streets of New York City.

MORE: Barnard expels two pro-Hamas protesters for barging into Israeli history class

IMAGE: Stu Stu Studio X screenshot

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