Demonstrators supporting Palestinians in Gaza barricade themselves inside Hamilton Hall, where the office of the dean is located on April 30, 2024 in New York City. Alex Kent/Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Alex Kent/Getty Images Demonstrators supporting Palestinians in Gaza barricade themselves inside Hamilton Hall, where the office of the dean is located on April 30, 2024 in New York City. Alex Kent/Getty Images Protesters began occupying buildings at Columbia University early Tuesday morning, after the school asked them the day before to voluntarily disperse from an encampment set up in support of Palestinians. Protesters began climbing into open windows at John Jay Hall, a dormitory, and students entered Hamilton Hall, an academic building and began moving furniture to a balcony, reported WKCR, the university radio station. University officials were not immediately available for comment. Though its public safety department was actively responding. In a statement, it urged people to avoid coming to the Morningside campus on Tuesday if they could. The New York Police Department said at about 2:15 a.m. that it had …

Demonstrators supporting Palestinians in Gaza barricade themselves inside Hamilton Hall, where the office of the dean is located, on Tuesday in New York City. Alex Kent/Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Alex Kent/Getty Images Demonstrators supporting Palestinians in Gaza barricade themselves inside Hamilton Hall, where the office of the dean is located, on Tuesday in New York City. Alex Kent/Getty Images Protesters began occupying a central campus building at Columbia University in New York early Tuesday morning, one day after the school asked them to voluntarily disperse from an encampment set up in support of Palestinians. Once inside, students chained and barricaded the doors. Hours later, the university’s public safety department announced what amounts to a lockdown of the campus in Manhattan’s Morningside Heights, with access restricted to essential-service employees and students who live in residential halls on the campus. “This building has now been liberated,” an Instagram account affiliated with the student group Columbia University Apartheid Divest announced as it posted an image of Hamilton Hall, echoing language used during a 1968 protest. Columbia …