On the evening of April 30th at 9:32 p.m., the “National Students for Justice in Palestine” confirmed on the “X” platform that the anti-terrorism special forces and the strategic response team of the police department had entered the campus of Columbia University for clearance. In the footage released by the “National Students for Justice in Palestine”, the police repeatedly shouted at the crowd to “move back” and stated that arrests would be made if they did not comply.
According to CBS News, the New York City Police Department entered Columbia University around 9 p.m. with permission from the university. A large number of police officers first appeared outside the campus buildings. The police entered the second floor of Hamilton Hall, occupied by protesters, and entered the building around 9:30 p.m.
Our newspaper has obtained a letter from Columbia University President Dr. Nemat Shafik to the New York City Police Department on the 30th, stating that the university had informed all students in the West Lawn campus tents on Monday morning that if they did not disperse by 2 p.m., they would be suspended. The letter also mentioned the occupation of Hamilton Hall on Tuesday (30th) at midnight, leaving the university with “no choice”.
“We unfortunately requested the assistance of the New York City Police Department to clear all individuals from Hamilton Hall and the campus camp. As part of this process, we understand that the NYPD plans to use the Long-Range Acoustic Device (LRAD) technology to notify participants in the camp that they must disperse,” the letter stated.
WKCR Radio and several student journalists from Columbia University were in contact. The student journalists on campus stated that they could not confirm whether the protesters occupying Hamilton Hall were students or if those being arrested by the police were students. A Columbia University student journalist expressed that allowing the police to enter the campus to arrest people sets a bad example.