After Hamas’ attack on October 7, pro-Palestine and pro-Israel protests moved from the New York city streets to its colleges, first in the inner courtyards, then in the hallways, finally to the dorms with stickers and decorations with this or that flag. In order to avoid unpleasant situations, Barnard College’s dean Leslie Grinage sent an email to students saying that as of the beginning of March only “official items placed by the college” will be permitted; all else will be banned.
According to The New York Times, some of the stickers quoted, “Zionism is terrorism”; another said, “Genocide is televised”, in capital letters. “While many decorations and fixtures on doors serve as a means of helpful communication amongst peers, we are also aware that some may have the unintended effect of isolating those who have different views and beliefs,” Dean Grinage wrote in the email.
Barnard RA Union wrote a letter to reply to Dean Grinage’s decision. “We vehemently oppose the new residence hall door decoration policy. Our residents have reached out to us with frustration and fear about the change’s potential impact on future freedom of expression”, the statement published in Instagram said.
Last week, the college’s administration office also updated a new protest policy, “to ensure that demonstrations are conducted safely and do not interfere with the rights of others to speak, study, teach, learn, work, and live”, reads the statement. Now, Barnard College students are allowed to “demonstrate”–not protest–only on Futter Field, between 2 and 6 pm, Monday through Friday and need to request permission 48 hours in advance. They cannot use amplification devices or pots, pans, and musical instruments.
Columbia University’s women’s college is known for being a progressive institution that values activism. Its administration argues that this new policy is actually less restrictive than a previous rule where students needed to give 28 days’ notice.
After October 7, U.S. colleges have been growing increasingly alarmed and took different positions on the matter. Columbia University, in particular, was sued by a group of Jewish students claiming that the environment has become “severely hostile” and is also facing congressional investigation into antisemitism on campus. Presidents of the University of Pennsylvania and Harvard resigned in December as a result of the controversial situation.
