The attempted takeover of a library at Columbia University by anti-Israel protesters last week was shut down fast and decisively by law enforcement, and the feeling among students on campus is that any further disruption — or any repeat of last year’s chaotic campus encampments — will not be tolerated among the university’s new leadership and will be quickly squashed.
There was a somber and uneasy mood outside the university the day after the protest, with the vast majority of students tight-lipped on the matter as they hurriedly shuffled through a security checkpoint outside the main gate on their way to class. There were no political signs, no Palestinian flags, and only a handful of people over the course of several hours were spotted wearing keffiyehs, the traditional Middle Eastern scarf often worn by protesters to signify their support of Palestinians.
Those who did speak said things had changed.
Two pensive Columbia University students, left, students being arrested on Wednesday and students charging a door. (Rashid Umar Abbasi for Fox News Digital, left, Lokman Vural Elibol/Anadolu via Getty Images, top right, WNYM, bottom right. )
One Italian student said the tactics protesters used were wrong. “I’ve learned that it’s smart not to comment.”
“I’m staying out of it, I’m an international student,” a smiling female international student from Ethiopia said as she whizzed by.
Daniel David, a freshman from Israel who is studying computer science, said the protesters are misguided since they do not live in the Middle East and do not have first-hand experience of the situation in the Middle East.
“There are no consequences for actions. How do they know what’s going on over there?” David asked.
A protester at Columbia University was arrested on Wednesday evening after demonstrators took over part of the central library on May 7, 2025. (Lokman Vural Elibol/Anadolu via Getty Images)
He said he thought twice about coming to study at Columbia given last year’s encampments but said if he did not, then it would have been a win for the demonstrators.
Antonio Da Porto, an Italian student who is studying math, added that he does not want a repeat of last year’s disruptions when student classes, studies and graduations were interrupted. He said the protesters should demonstrate in public spaces.
“These people act in a way that they want to really put the students in a difficult situation. I think there’s a silent majority of people that are not happy about anything that’s happening right now and that’s been happening in the last year,” Da Porto said.
“You can say what you think, but you’re an international student, so you’re here to build your career, and you should not bring any problems to the nation. There’s not really a systematic antisemitism problem. It’s like a small group of students that do a lot of noise. But outside this small group of students, Jewish students can feel relatively safe on the campus.”
