The daughter of Representative Ilhan Omar, a Democrat from Minnesota, says she was essentially forced to leave her residence after being suspended from Columbia University’s Barnard College. The suspension was a result of her involvement in pro-Palestinian protests that took place on campus.
Many students at Columbia University have been protesting on campus for several days. They are expressing their dissatisfaction with the way the Biden administration has handled the Israel-Hamas war. They are calling for a cease-fire in the conflict and asking Congress to stop providing military aid to Israel.
Isra Hirsi, who is 21 years old, was one of over 100 students who were arrested for protesting on university property. They were charged with trespassing. The protests have continued to grow in size. She was one of three students suspended from Barnard, which means she can no longer access food and housing.
Hirsi talked about the time she found out she was suspended in an interview with Teen Vogue on Sunday. “At that time, we informed the camp about the situation. There were many Barnard students at the camp. We told them that we were forced to leave our space and were officially suspended,” she explained.
Soon after the suspensions, the 113 students who were arrested were taken to a nearby police station by bus. Hirsi said that she was kept in zip ties for a period of seven hours before being accused of trespassing and then let go. She said that her main worry was where she would sleep, even though she was facing legal problems.
“When I arrived at 1 Police Plaza, my roommates had brought me a bag of clothes because they knew that I was probably going to be evicted,” she said. “While we were checking our email, we received a message informing us that we had 15 minutes to retrieve our belongings. It also mentioned that we would need to be accompanied by a public safety escort.”
“I thought to myself, ‘I’m not going to do that.'” But I was feeling a bit panicked, thinking, ‘Where will I be able to sleep?’ “Where am I going to go?” she continued. “And all of my belongings are scattered in a random place.” It’s really bad.
Hirsi said that she is not allowed to enter campus while she is suspended, which is a punishment that only applies to Barnard students. “I’m not sure when I can go home, and I’m not sure if I’ll ever be able to,” she said. “I haven’t been officially evicted yet. I haven’t received an email telling me to move out, but they just told me that I can’t enter, although I’m not sure what that means.
“I have four shirts and two pairs of pants.” She continued, “I think it’s pretty crazy that only Barnard students are evicted.” After the suspension, people were worried about food.
“I can’t go to the dining hall.” I emailed them saying, “Hey, I depend on campus for my meals and my dining plan,” and they responded, “Oh, you can come get a bag of prepackaged food,” but it was 48 hours after I got suspended,” she explained. “There was no help with food, absolutely nothing.”
“The Columbia students can still use a dining hall and go back to their homes,” she explained. “They are not allowed to go anywhere else, but they can go home and use one dining hall.”
Hirsi said that Barnard has taken a strong stance against the protesting students, which is different from how the rest of the university has responded. Barnard explained its decision to suspend Hirsi and other students in a statement to The Hill on Monday.
“The school said that it is our responsibility to make sure our community is a safe place where everyone is treated fairly and without harassment or discrimination. At the same time, we want to make sure that everyone has the chance to share their opinions.” “We have created specific rules to protect both parties, and we are dedicated to enforcing them fairly and with respect.”
“Students who are on interim suspension can no longer enter most Barnard buildings. However, they can still receive services from the College, such as healthcare, mental health counseling, and academic support,” the statement said in response to Hirsi’s concerns. The Dean of the College is providing food to students who are on interim suspension and helping them find alternative housing if necessary.
Protests like these have also happened at other universities across the country, including New York University, Yale University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Miami University of Ohio, and many others. These protests were inspired by the students at Columbia University. The actions are happening even though political leaders from both sides disagree.
The Biden administration strongly criticized the protests on Sunday, calling them “clearly antisemitic” and stating that they are promoting “calls for violence.”
Leave a Reply