The chaos unfolding at Barnard College is just the latest example of the left’s complete unwillingness to enforce basic law and order when the mob happens to be on their side.
What started as a campus demonstration quickly turned into a full-fledged riot, with anti-Israel agitators seizing a building, breaking police barricades, and even sending a faculty member to the hospital. And yet, the same people who call January 6 an “insurrection” seem perfectly content to watch lawless mobs take over college campuses—so long as they’re waving the right flags.
Let’s be clear: this wasn’t a “peaceful protest.” On Wednesday, more than 50 demonstrators stormed a building at Barnard College, refusing to leave. By Thursday, at least 100 masked protesters—many draped in keffiyehs—gathered at the entrance, chanting anti-Israel slogans and calling the NYPD “KKK.”
They then marched to City College of New York (CUNY) to disrupt an event with Governor Kathy Hochul, forcing its cancellation. If this sounds more like an organized insurgency than a protest, that’s because it is.
Yet, as usual, college administrators and local officials waffled, hoping that weak warnings and appeasement would make the problem go away. Barnard Vice President Robin Levine admitted that protesters had let outsiders onto campus without ID, endangering the student body, but the school’s only response was to tell them they had until 9:30 p.m. to leave.
They didn’t. And what were the “necessary measures” Barnard threatened? Clearly, not enough, because the rioters were back in force the next day.
This entire mess began because two students—who had been caught spreading Hamas propaganda inside a classroom—were finally expelled. Their supporters couldn’t tolerate even this minor consequence for their actions, so they escalated into outright lawlessness. And now, emboldened by the lack of serious repercussions, the mob continues to grow.
Enough is enough. Every student who participated in this takeover should be expelled. Every foreign student involved should have their visa revoked and be sent back to their home country.
Every person who stormed that building should face criminal charges. Until there are real consequences, these radicals will keep pushing the limits, knowing that weak college administrators and leftist politicians will bend over backward to accommodate them.
