Palestine-supporting students sue Columbia University over alleged suppression
Three Columbia University students allege administrators blocked exits and trapped protesters during a May 7, 2015 demonstration in Butler Library.
Three Palestine-supporting Columbia students sue the university over alleged suppression during a 2015 Butler Library protest, citing locked exits and protesters trapped.
Columbia Spectator reported that three students who support Palestine filed a lawsuit alleging Columbia University mishandled a 2015 protest by blocking exits in Butler Library, leaving about 80 protesters trapped as demonstrators criticized the university’s ties to Israel during the Gaza war. The complaint says administrators and a campus security guard locked the library doors and did not allow anyone to leave. The case adds to other suits alleging a hostile environment for Palestinian-supporting students; one plaintiff, Mohammad Khalil, has filed a related complaint. The report notes the protests occurred amid broader tensions and discussions about campus security and funding during the Donald Trump administration.