Columbia University has a long history of campus protests. Here's a look back at some of them.
NEW YORK -- Columbia University students have used the campus to stage demonstrations for decades - long before the latest pro-Palestinian protests. Columbia is currently holding classes remotely as hundreds of pro-Palestinian protesters occupy the campus South Lawn.
The student body at Columbia has a long history of activism, making their voices heard in some of the country's most important cultural debates.
Vietnam War protests, 1968
In 1968, students opposing U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War occupied several buildings on campus. That protest lasted a week before police were brought in. Some protesters suffered minor injuries, according to a New York Times report.
Anti-apartheid protests, 1984
In 1984, students led anti-apartheid protests calling on Columbia to divest from South Africa. Demonstrators gathered at the entrance to Hamilton Hall, one of the same buildings occupied in the 1968 demonstrations.
Sexual assault protests, 2014
Thirty years later, in the wake of the Ray Rice scandal, some students carried mattresses around to draw attention to the issue of on-campus sexual assaults and the university's handling of reported rapes.
Climate Change, 2019
In March 2019, Columbia students held one of the largest rallies in New York City during a national strike over climate change. Students in over 130 cities skipped classes in protest.
Israel-Hamas war, 2023
Weeks after Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, hundreds of students gathered at the center of campus protesting Columbia's decision to suspend the "Students for Justice in Palestine" and "Jewish Voice for Peace" groups for the semester.
Columbia's Special Committee on Campus Safety said, "The two groups repeatedly violated university policies related to holding campus events, culminating in an unauthorized event ... that proceeded despite warnings and included threatening rhetoric and intimidation."
The pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia have now been ongoing for nearly a week. The NYPD previously removed protesters that had built a makeshift encampment on the South Lawn, but a few days later, the tents had returned.
