The National coalition and hate-incident reporting center Stop AAPI Hate condemned the arrest of hundreds of pro-Palestinian student protestors at college campuses across the country, describing the actions from universities and law enforcement as “violent suppression.” 

In a recent statement, Manjusha P. Kulkarni, co-founder of Stop AAPI Hate, said the organization was “alarmed and angered” by the treatment of student protesters. Citing the law enforcement use of chemical irritants for crowd control last week at Emory University in Atlanta, Kulkarni called on universities to “stand by their own values of academic freedom.” 

“We ask administrators to stop targeting students who express pro-Palestinian views, as USC recently did when it barred its South Asian American valedictorian, Asna Tabassum, from speaking at graduation,” Kulkarni said in the statement. “Most urgently, we call on universities to remove law enforcement from sites of peaceful protest and cease the use of violence on demonstrators. All students — Asian American and Pacific Islander, Muslim, Jewish, Palestinian and otherwise — have the right to safely and peacefully stand up for their views.”

Dozens of demonstrators gathered outside Columbia's campus on Amsterdam Avenue at a locked gate near Hamilton Hall in solidarity with student protesters.

Refrains of "Disclose. Divest. We will not rest until you divest," were chanted as they stood on the public sidewalk outside the university. A group of students inside the gates walked over and joined, chanting, "We will honor all our martyrs."

As they stood at the gate, they clapped and shouted, "When Gaza is under attack, what do we do? Stand up fight back."

Leaders of the student groups behind the Columbia University encampment — CUAD, SJP and JVP — said they were not given a heads-up about this morning's takeover of Hamilton Hall and described those behind the building break-in as an “autonomous” group. 

Maryam Alwan, who was arrested and suspended when Columbia University brought NYPD to campus earlier this month, described suspensions that went out this morning as “arbitrary” and alleged it included one student who was not in New York City yesterday when the deadline went out. 

“It just feels like this university is so far beyond the law and their own policies and regulations that all of us have no idea what could come,” Alwan said. “We might be targeted by association.” 

A student, who would not identify themselves out of safety concerns, told reporters earlier that Palestinian refugee Mahmoud Khalil was suspended this morning and barred from campus, which Alwan also confirmed. Khalil has spoken to media in recent weeks and had been participating in negotiations but said he was not part of the encampment, because arrest or discipline could risk his visa as an international student. 

NBC News cameras saw Khalil and another student negotiator denied access to campus today.

Organizers are getting supplies, such as food and water, to protesters inside Columbia's Hamilton Hall in a makeshift delivery system via ropes.

Dozens of protesters took over the building early this morning. The university has threatened to expel students who remain inside.

A student protest organizer said that since last night, Columbia University has targeted at least three Palestinian students for suspension, allegedly "regardless of their involvement" in the encampment protest — including one involved in Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD) negotiations.

Columbia has not provided details about the suspended students.

The student organizer, who declined to share her name at an afternoon news conference, said Hamilton Hall was taken over by “autonomous protesters” who are in solidarity with CUAD’s demands for the university to divest and for financial transparency regarding its investments and holdings. 

She said this morning's takeover of the campus building was met with mass support by students.

It's not clear how many students have been suspended since the school's deadline yesterday to vacate the encampment, but the organizer gave a rough estimate of at least 20.

“I don’t think we have any plans on stopping any time soon," she said about the three sites of ongoing campus protests.

The partial lockdown at Columbia took many students and staffers by surprise as they were unexpectedly turned away from campus today.

“This is my job. So yeah, it’s kind of inconvenient,” lab tech David Johnson said after being denied entry at 116th Street and Amsterdam Avenue. “Up to now, everything seemed normal, just having to swipe in."

Physics doctoral candidate Varun Lochab will have to work without access to some of his material. 

“I would like to go up my office to do my work, so this is a problem,” Lochab said after being turned away.  “It’s not the students (protesters at fault). I feel like the administration should be doing more to de-escalate and not escalate the situation," he said.

A school spokesperson said that access to campus was limited as a "safety measure."

Students occupying parts of Columbia University's campus are being suspended, a school spokesperson said today. 

“We regret that protesters have chosen to escalate the situation through their actions. Our top priority is restoring safety and order on our campus,” school spokesperson Ben Chang said. “Protesters have chosen to escalate to an untenable situation — vandalizing property, breaking doors and windows, and blockading entrances — and we are following through with the consequences we outlined yesterday.”

Students still occupying Hamilton Hall face expulsion, he said.

He noted that protesters were informed that their participation in the pro-Palestinian encampment on campus violated “numerous university policies” and they were offered a 2 p.m. deadline to leave and be allowed to complete the semester.

Biden “has stood against repugnant, Antisemitic smears and violent rhetoric his entire life. He condemns the use of the term ‘intifada,’ as he has the other tragic and dangerous hate speech displayed in recent days,” White House spokesperson Andrew Bates said today.

While the president “respects the right to free expression,” protests should be “peaceful and lawful,” the statement said. 

“Forcibly taking over buildings is not peaceful — it is wrong. And hate speech and hate symbols have no place in America,” Bates added. 

The comment comes after Columbia’s Hamilton Hall was occupied by protesters overnight and a banner that said “INTIFADA” and “STUDENT INTIFADA” — an Arabic word meaning uprising or rebellion — was visible flying from the building.

There were two Palestinian intifadas — in 1987, and between 2000 and 2005 — which saw widespread civil disobedience and violence that was met with a strong Israeli military response. In the second intifada, more than 4,000 Palestinians and 1,000 Israelis died, according to the UN, which tallied deaths until 2007. 

Since then, the phrase has become part of the lexicon of pro-Palestinian protesters across the world, while different groups interpret the term differently. The Anti-Defamation League refers to intifada as a “reference to violent Palestinian uprisings against Israel, while the Council on American-Islamic Relations says it is used as “the Arabic word for uprising.” CAIR says using intifada as a term referencing “killing Jews” is a “false claim. 

Columbia University on Tuesday added an $80 flex sum for dining plan holders “in light of campus restrictions impacting access to several Columbia Dining locations.”

Plan holders can use the flex at off-campus locations or for online food delivery. 

Columbia Dining spaces are still operating with adjustments. The university said: “Dining Plan Holders who are unable to access the South Lawn may also dine at Grace Dodge Dining Hall at Teachers College.”