Columbia University has kept its campus gates closed to the public since protests in October 2023, despite a significant reduction in protest activity. The university recently formed a committee to determine when and how to reopen, after pro-Palestine demonstrations earlier this year saw only about 20 participants. Students like Nicholas Baum argue that while initial lockdown measures were justified for safety reasons, the prolonged closure is unnecessary and limits access for both speakers and visitors.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-09-18,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Columbia University has remained under lockdown since October 7th, 2023, when Hamas attacked Israel, triggering pro-Palestine protests that shut down the campus with an illegal encampment. Initially, students had to scan their IDs for access, but this became permanent after spring 2024 due to ongoing protests. Despite a significant drop in protest activities, campus gates remain closed. Nicholas Baum, a senior studying economics, argues that while closing the gates was initially justified, it is now an outdated measure. In May 2025, some Jewish students chained themselves to gates to抗议逮捕示威者，而图书馆占领事件导致78人被捕。这种情况引发了一些学生的不满，他们认为持续的封锁措施将犹太学生置于更大目标的风险之中，并可能加剧校园内的紧张局势。
Written for “Columbia University Lockdown” on 2026-09-18,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The model judged this article politically coded and scored it -0.45, but every quote it verified points right, so the score is not published.
Written under an earlier scoring contract, which gave a paragraph
rather than checkable quotes. Re-analysing this article replaces it.
Leaning score withheld for article 17355: score contradicts its own evidence · logged 2026-09-18
Columbia University was crippled almost three years ago by pro-Palestine protesters, who shut down campus with an illegal encampment.
asserted
who → cripple → encampment
And still, all this time later, the campus gates remain closed to the public.
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gates → remain → public
“There was a complete time and place where [closing the gates] was justified and was necessary,” Nicholas Baum, a 21-year-old senior studying economics, told The Post.
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Baum → be → Post
“But now it’s a constant and, frankly, outdated reminder [of the protests].
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it → ’ → protests
We’re in a completely different environment.”
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We → ’re → environment
Current seniors are the only undergraduates on campus who remember a time before their school was sent into chaos by the October 7th 2023 terror attack by Hamas on Israel.
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school → remember → Israel
Students were first required to scan their Columbia ID cards that month in order to gain access to campus, as part of the school’s attempt to calm ongoing protests and keep outside agitators from the community.
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Students → require → community
But that temporary measure became permanent when an encampment popped up on campus that spring.
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encampment → become → campus
The measures remain despite protest activity on campus heavily dwindling.
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activity → remain → campus
In May 2025 handfuls of students — some of whom were Jewish — chained themselves to gates to protests the arrest of protesters, while a library takeover resulted in the arrest of 78 people.
uncertain
takeover → chain → people
By April this year, a pro-Palestine protest outside the University’s Hamilton Hall attacted around 20 people, video shows.
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video → attacte → people
Newly installed university president Jennifer L. Mnookin sent a letter to the community on September 7 establishing a committee to decide when and how to reopen the campus in Morningside Heights.
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Mnookin → instal → Heights
A spokesperson for the university told The Post President Mnookin is hoping the committee will offer recommendations for next steps by the end of the semester.
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committee → tell → semester
Students, including junior and political science major Aum Desai, are rolling their eyes at the bureaucracy.
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Students → include → bureaucracy
“When you have an open campus, it’s easier to bring speakers onto campus,” he told The Post.
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he → have → Post
“You see more people from the New York City area, like the people that you’re neighbors with as a Columbia student.
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you → see → student
However, the stakes are high for the university, after the Trump adminstration cut $400 million in federal funding from the school in 2025, partly citing unruliness of pro-Palestine protesters as its reason.
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adminstration → cut → reason
Baum, who is Jewish, told The Post in September 2024 that he felt unsafe on campus during the chaotic protests, which had seen acts of aggression against Jewish people.
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which → tell → people
But he now believes the administration isn’t updating its assessment of the situation.
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administration → believe → situation
“At that time, I was scared to leave my dorm.
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I → leave → dorm
I was scared to go onto the streets of Broadway and Amsterdam Avenue,” he recalled.
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he → scar → Broadway
“But it’s very awkward and weird to see Columbia still doubling down as hard as they can on maintaining the gate closures.”
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they → ’ → closures
Continuing the lockdown, he said, could end up being harmful to students like himself.
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he → continue → himself
“I’d really be bothered if Columbia went out and said this was for the sake of protecting Jewish students, because the only thing that does is just put a greater target on Jewish students’ backs, where other students now look at me and think, I’m the reason why the campus gates are closed,” he warned.
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he → bother → me
The Aporia
