Columbia University in New York City restricted access to its campus this week during the two-year anniversary of Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on Israel.
Same-day registrations for guests and alumni to enter the grounds were temporarily suspended on Oct. 6 and 7. The limitations were put in place “to ensure the safety of our community and continuity of our academic mission,” according to a notice from the school’s public safety department.
Last year, the Ivy League university on the Upper West Side of Manhattan became the epicenter of debate in the United States over the conflict in the Middle East. It also came under international scrutiny after administrators allowed the New York Police Department to make mass arrests following increasingly intense student protests.
Read more: Alumni pressure and a crime-fighting mayor helped set the stage for Columbia arrests
Since then, the school is one of many prestigious universities that have drawn ire from the Trump administration. Amid the threat of losing billions of dollars in research funding – and separate attacks on its accreditation – the school struck a first-of-its-kind deal with the White House in July to ease federal pressure.
Part of that agreement, which other colleges have since emulated, included a promise to bolster campus security and reform the student discipline process.
Read more: The details of Columbia’s extraordinary $220 million deal with Trump
Regular protocols for campus access will be restored on Wednesday, Oct. 8, the school said.
Hamas launched a sweeping attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, in which some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, were killed and 251 were taken hostage, according to Israeli tallies. Over the last two years, Israeli forces have killed more than 67,000 people in Gaza, most of them civilians, according to area health authorities run by Hamas.
Contributing: Reuters
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Amid Oct. 7 anniversary, Columbia University restricts campus access
