CUAD launches sit-in at Barnard’s Milstein Library, declares building the "Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya Liberated Zone"

Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD) has launched its second sit-in this semester, protesting Barnard's expulsion of three students and demanding a meeting with President Laura Rosenbury and Dean Leslie Grinage.

Photography by Sherry Chen/The Barnard Bulletin

By Riya Mahanta, Jaya Shankar, and Kimberly Wing

March 5, 2025

Updated April 1 at 2:27 p.m.

On Wednesday, March 5, Columbia University Apartheid Divestment (CUAD) launched a sit-in on the first floor of Barnard's Milstein Center. In an Instagram post, CUAD declared the occupied space the “Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya Liberated Zone,” after a Palestinian doctor who was subject to severe abuse in the custody of Israeli forces and is still being held captive after refusing to abandon patients in the Kamal Adwan Hospital in Gaza.

“We have renamed Milstein Library in his honor to demand that the international community turn its eyes to Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya’s captivity and take action to secure his immediate release while he can still be saved,” CUAD explained in the same post.

The sit-in comes exactly one week after pro-Palestinian protesters occupied the first floor of Milbank Hall for seven hours, demanding to meet with President Rosenbury and Dean Grinage and calling for the reinstatement of two students who were expelled for disrupting a “History of Modern Israel” class at Columbia. On March 3, a third Barnard student was expelled for alleged participation in CUAD’s occupation of Hamilton Hall in April 2024. 

Photography by Theresa Cullen/The Barnard Bulletin

At 1:03 p.m., a group of protesters, many wearing keffiyehs, masks, or sunglasses, gathered on the first floor of Milstein, where many students seemingly unaffiliated with the demonstration were. Protesters taped large posters portraying Rosenbury and Grinage as wanted criminals "for complicity in genocide and violence against students" and “for the wrongful expulsion of pro-Palestinian students,” respectively. Students chanted "Barnard College, you can't hide, we will never let this slide" and "From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free." 

At 1:12 p.m., CUAD made an Instagram post declaring intentions of occupying the Milstein Center on Instagram and stating that “Nothing will deter us, we will not stop and we will not rest no matter how these institutions try to crush us."

Photography by Sherry Chen/The Barnard Bulletin

Protesters distributed posters, flyers, and pamphlets, and many waved Palestinian flags. The flyers listed CUAD's demands, addressed to Dean Grinage and President Rosenbury.

An alternate variant of the flyer was taped to one of the windows in the building, which replaced the third demand with a call to "Close the Barnard Office for Student Intervention and Success and any other disciplinary bodies that lack community oversight or transparency. Establish a new, transparent process for non-academic discipline that includes student, faculty and staff representation." 

At 1:45 p.m., members of the Barnard administration arrived in front of Milstein. A-J Aronstein, the Vice President of Community Engagement and Lifelong Success at Barnard College, entered the Milstein lobby with a megaphone in an attempt to communicate with the group of protesters. Protesters chanted over him, saying "Shut it down,” and Aronstein moved to the side. 

Administrators distributed printed notices to protesters at 1:59 p.m., which state that the school has offered the demonstrators “multiple opportunities to engage in dialogue with Barnard leadership in a manner consistent with Barnard policies,” and “multiple opportunities to leave the building peacefully and without further escalation.” The note is printed on Barnard letterhead but does not include a signature from Barnard administration. 

The notice further states that “this notice is a final request from the College that you immediately cease your participation in this activity and leave Milstein,” threatening that if students do not comply with the request, the school will have to “take further action as necessary to clear the building.”

A-J Aronstein placing notices from the Barnard administration on the ground in front of protesters.

Photography by Riya Mahanta/The Barnard Bulletin

Sit-in participants tore up the notices and threw fragments of paper into the air. Barnard representatives placed the notices at the feet of protesters who refused to take the notice from them.

At 2:07 p.m., two masked protesters pushed past security into Milstein, with four more barging in behind them. Security stationed at the front doors attempted to reach for them, but ultimately did not stop the protesters from entering the building. 

Bulletin reporters on the scene noted that while protesters gave speeches, other demonstrators posted stickers and flyers of their demands on the Milstein walls and windows. 

Photography by Riya Mahanta/The Barnard Bulletin

Afterwards, protesters began singing songs such as “We Shall Not be Moved.” Protesters distributed flyers with the lyrics of the songs, “Everybody’s Got a Right to Live,” “Stayed on Freedom,” and “This Joy.” The protesters also recited chants, including “Long live Hind’s Hall / Every fascist state will fall,” We want divestment now now now,” and “We are the students / We won’t stop fighting.”

Photography by Theresa Cullen/The Barnard Bulletin

A "Barnard Community Message" was sent to all students via email at 2:19 p.m., stating that "Due to a disruption in the Milstein Library and obstruction to the entrance, the Milstein Library is closed until further notice." Students received an additional email from Gary Maroni, the Director of Community Safety & Emergency Response, asking students to "avoid the Milstein Center."

For the next forty minutes, protesters continued to sing and distributed fliers with song lyrics, including “Everybody’s Got a Right to Live,” “Stayed on Freedom,” and “This Joy.” The protesters also recited chants, such as “Long live Hind’s Hall / Every fascist state will fall,” and “One, we are the students, two, we won't stop fighting, three, we want divestment now, now, now, now.” 

At 2:35 p.m., Executive Vice President for Strategy and Chief Administrative Officer Kelli Murray asked protesters to exit the lobby. Sit-in participants responded by singing “We Shall Not Be Moved,” changing one of the lyrics to “You shall un-expel our students now, or we shall not be moved.” 

At 2:57 p.m, Murray announced that she was on the phone with President Rosenbury, who was not present on campus at the time. Murray addressed the group of protesters, asking, “Are you all interested in talking with her, is that the request?”

A masked protester approached Murray and spoke to Rosenbury over the phone, addressing her by first name and asking, “How can Barnard have a disciplinary system that has one person responsible for an entire person's future, whereas every other school has a democratic process. How do you think that's acceptable?” 

The protester continued, “Our demand is to reinstate the expelled students because of how unjust this process has been, and we don't intend on leaving until that happens.” 

Rosenbury thanked the protester for their question, and said that she and Dean Grinage were “happy to meet tomorrow or Friday morning with three unmasked representatives who are Barnard students” to “talk about this issue and others.” 

However, student protesters raised reservations about meeting with Rosenbury and Grinage, saying that earlier in the week, the Barnard administration “took back what [they] said,” referencing the administration’s allegedly unfulfilled agreement to meet with masked representatives for the group following Wednesday's Milbank sit-in. 

“We don’t trust you, understandably,” concluded the protester.

The protester agreed to send unmasked representatives if Barnard “unmasks [their] finances,” which Rosenbury said she would be “happy to discuss” since the College’s endowment data is public. The audited financial statements from the 2023 fiscal year are the most recent endowment and financial data publicly available through the official Barnard website. 

Declaring Rosenbury’s claim false, the protester insisted that Rosenbury and Grinage speak with the group immediately and in person or they would “stay until tomorrow, until the meeting.” The student representative also requested that Rosenbury affirm that the three unmasked representatives at the meeting would be “granted amnesty.”

Rosenbury responded by clarifying that “the representatives do not need to have been present at today’s event, and we will not ask the representatives to say whether they were present.” 

After the protester pointed out that Rosenbury's response was “not what [they] asked,” Rosenbury replied that she “didn’t understand the question” but was willing to have a conversation, at which the many of the protesters laughed. The main speaker insisted that Rosenbury confirm whether the representatives would receive amnesty, to which Rosenbury responded that she would “answer all questions when we meet in person” and ended the phone call.

Shortly after the call concluded, Rosenbury sent out a brief email to members of the Barnard community reaffirming Barnard’s commitment to “fostering a safe environment where all students can learn and all members of our community are respected,” and stating that they “will continue to manage this disruption and will provide updates as needed.” Her email also noted that classes, facilities, and dining staff activities taking place in Milstein were disrupted when the protesters entered the building, but that “campus activities outside of Milstein and throughout the rest of the campus are proceeding as normal.” 

Photography by Merielen Espino/The Barnard Bulletin

At 3:19 p.m., demonstrators asked those in Milstein to join them for Asr, one of the five mandatory daily prayers in Islam, which is performed in the late afternoon. Afterward, an art space was created in the area around the Bubble Tea and Sushi Spot, where protesters were invited to make banners. Students who did not participate in the sit-in were still freely entering and exiting Milstein from the front entrance.

At 4:11 p.m., a second printed notice, written and signed by President Rosenbury, was distributed to protesters. In the letter, Rosenbury stated her preference “to talk with [negotiators] in quiet and face to face,” but reminded protesters that while a meeting would not result in disciplinary action for the three representatives, the administration could not “offer a ‘blanket amnesty’ for all actions ever.” The letter also reemphasized the request for the demonstrators to leave the building and restated that the protesters had violated various Barnard policies. However, protesters voted unanimously to remain in the building for another hour.

At 4:17 p.m., Murray announced a “threat on this building” and that all people currently in Milstein needed to leave. Barnard administrators began evacuating people from the upper floors of Milstein, as well as press, janitorial, and Bubble Tea and Sushi Spot employees. As protesters surrounded administrators, asking for further explanation, Barnard Vice President for Strategic Communications Robin Levine clarified that they had received a “bomb threat.” 

“You need to leave now. This is not a joke,” Levine told protestors.

The building’s emergency lights flashed and alarms began to sound to encourage those in the building to evacuate. Despite the bomb threat, protesters voted at 4:23 p.m. to remain in the Milstein lobby. 

Gary Maroni, the Interim Executive Director of CARES, sent an email to the Barnard community at 4:43 p.m. advising all students to “shelter in place” and “await for further instruction.” 

Photography by Ming Yuan/The Barnard Bulletin

Around this time, New York Police Department officers, some of whom were members of the Strategic Response Group (SRG), entered Barnard's campus. Students outside the main campus gates were prevented from entering as officers crossed the campus and blocked entry to the Milstein Center. At 5:01 p.m., the NYPD posted on X that they were “responding to a bomb threat” at Barnard College and that “anyone who refuses to leave the location is subject to arrest.”

Despite officers’ requests to clear Futter Field, several protesters, bystanders, faculty, and students remained on the lawn. Officers zip-tied the hands of and detained multiple protesters. By 5:07 p.m., only a few NYPD officers remained on Futter Field. Both protesters and students were barred from entering Barnard’s main gates. While many protesters left campus on their own or were forced out by authorities, several participants were arrested. As remaining protestors chanting “There is no solution, only intifada revolution” crowded around the Greek Games statue, police demanded for them to clear the area while several arrests were made near Milstein. A tweet by Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine showed arrested protesters being led into Milstein, despite the building being actively investigated for a bomb threat.

Around 5:40 p.m., a smaller group of demonstrators gathered at the intersection between Barnard’s main gates and Columbia’s Earl Hall gate to protest the NYPD officers stationed there. Individuals led chants such as “Cops off our campus now” and “There is no riot here, why are you in riot gear.”

At 6:43 p.m., CARES announced that Barnard’s campus was “all clear at this time,” and stated that “Campus access is restricted to the main gate at 117th & Broadway and to BCID holders only. The Milstein Center at 40 Claremont Ave remains closed at this time.” 

President Rosenbury emailed the Barnard community at 9:15 p.m., describing the day's events as “disturbing and unacceptable” and claiming that after the bomb threat was received, “for the safety of our entire community – including the safety of the masked disrupters – Barnard made the necessary decision to request NYPD assistance so they could evacuate the building to reduce the risk of harm.” 

At 9:24 p.m., Barnard's Student Government Association (SGA) also wrote an email and Instagram post to the Barnard community, stating that they were “explicitly told by President Rosenbury, in the presence of other senior staff, that the College would never invite the NYPD onto campus.” SGA condemned the administration for allowing NYPD into campus as “an act of cowardice” and demanded amnesty for students involved in the Milstein sit-in, a “good-faith negotiation” to “implement meaningful changes that reflect the needs and voices of the student body,” and a restructuring of Barnard's disciplinary process with “with complete transparency for current, past, and future disciplinary proceedings.”

At 10:25 p.m., Executive Vice President for Strategy and Chief Administrative Officer Kelli Murray sent an email stating that administration “expect all classes and operations to resume normally” the following day. The email also outlined the implementation of additional security precautions, including asking students to remove face coverings to verify their ID photo or to display the contents of their bags. Those who do not comply with these requests will not be permitted on campus. 

Barnard Bulletin Co-Editor-in-Chief Lily Sones, Campus News Editor Giselle Bradshaw, Deputy Campus News Editor Riya Mahanta, Staff Writer Theresa Cullen, Staff Writer Chase Taylor, and Deputy Politics & Opinion Editor Yuna Jeong contributed to reporting for this article.