Tent city springs up in view of Falmouth resident’s dorm room
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This image by photographer Abbad Diraneyya shows the second encampment at Columbia University, which sprung up after New York City police made arrests over the first encampment. Those involved were protesting Israeli attacks on Gaza that followed Hamas’ surprise attack on Israel. Pendleton County resident Jacob Sanning, a freshman, had a front row view of the protests.
By Jemi Chew
On Oct. 7, 1,200 people were killed and more than 200 others taken hostage when Hamas crossed Israel’s border in a surprise attack.
The Israeli army retaliated and to date, more than 30,000 Palestinians have been killed.
Protests erupted on many college campuses across the United States, with the biggest demonstrations typically condemning Israel’s attacks on Gaza and U.S. support of Israel.
The protests are particularly prominent on Ivy League and elite college campuses, where in recent months, students have set up encampments at their universities in protest of their schools’ monetary investments in Israeli companies and schools.
The students have faced suspension, expulsion, arrests and other disciplinary actions from their colleges.
According to The Associated Press, this movement to occupy spaces on campus, set up tents and refuse to leave unless student demands are met began at Columbia University, where Jacob Sanning, a Falmouth resident, is studying.
PENDLETON TIES
Sanning, 19, graduated from Pendleton County High School in the spring of 2023 and was accepted into Columbia University, where he plans to major in linguistics.
He always wanted to attend college in a larger urban area and was drawn to Columbia in New York City because of its strong linguistics program and passionate environment.
“It’s been really great. The professors are really genuine, and I really like the curriculum,” Sanning said.
However, after NYPD arrests began, the atmosphere on campus became oppressive and anxiety inducing, according to Sanning.
Sanning witnessed three main movements during the protests: the first encampment, the second encampment, and the occupation of Hamilton Hall.
FIRST ENCAMPMENT
On April 17, the first encampment was set up on the East Lawn and cleared by police on April 18.
“The first time that there was a huge police threat, when they were mobilizing outside campus, they sent out a call for all of the students in the area to come and hold a big rally,” Sanning said.
“And that was really loud. And that lasted until like 3 a.m.
“On the first day that they sent in the cops, I had a class and there was no one there. It was just me and four other people and the professor because everyone else was out watching the cops actively arrest our classmates,” Sanning said.
However, before the arrests began, most classes were still well attended, and professors tried to keep things going as normal.
After the first encampment was cleared by NYPD, the second encampment was set up right outside Sanning’s dorm room window.
SECOND ENCAMPMENT
According to Sanning, everyone who left the first encampment before police showed up, as well as others who were inspired to join after seeing NYPD arrests, started the second encampment, which lasted until the occupation of Hamilton Hall.
“I saw like 30 to 40 people in there and by the end of it, right before they occupied Hamilton Hall, there was like, looked like 150,” Sanning said.
He observed from his window that it started peacefully and was very organized.
“By the end of it, they had set up a schedule every day where people were giving talks. There was like Palestinian dancing and music. They showed documentaries and stuff. And they took up donations to get food and water for everyone too,” Sanning said.
He said the threat of the university sending in the police weighed on him. He even had a friend who was arrested during the first encampment.
“It just really affected my mental health. I was an anxious wreck,” Sanning said.
Protesters also were affected by the fear of police arrest and split into different colored “patrols” that indicated their willingness to be arrested.
In addition, there were many restrictions on campus. Libraries were shut down, dining hall hours were altered, in-person classes were canceled and checkpoints were erected to control traffic in and out of campus as well as to cut off supplies to the encampment.
Eventually, many of Sanning’s friends were either trapped outside of Columbia or inside their dorms as the situation escalated and the protesters occupied Hamilton Hall. The campus became a ghost town, Sanning said.
HALL OCCUPATION
“All of my friends and I were just sort of hunkered down in our rooms waiting for it to happen because we knew it was going to happen,” he said.
HALL OCCUPATION
Sanning was outside of his dorm around 2 a.m. on April 30 after students occupied Hamilton Hall. It was a symbolic move, becoming a part of the building’s extensive history of occupations that started in 1968 over the Vietnam War and civil rights issues.
“It was pretty crazy. I went out that night because I knew something was going to happen because the deadline that the administration set for the negotiations had run out,” Sanning said.
“And so I walked out and I just saw huge crowds of people just like out. It was 2 a.m. It was 2 a.m. and there was like hundreds of people just walking around.”
He saw the protestors throw banners from the upper windows of Hamilton Hall and break a couple of windows.
When the NYPD entered campus in the evening, Sanning witnessed what he said felt like 150 officers, outnumbering the protestors three to one.
“It looked like an army marching on campus like they walked in a column,” Sanning said. “It was riot police, basically. And they just marched into campus and ran.”
Sanning also saw the encampment outside his dorm room window get cleared out by the police.
“They had the whole encampment locked down in like two minutes. They were checking tents and stuff,” Sanning said.
THE AFTERMATH
“After that whole thing happened, things really got unbearable to be on campus,” Sanning said.
To alleviate end-of-the-semester pressure on students in the wake of the protests, finals were either canceled or digitalized and due dates were pushed back.
“There were some accommodations from the university because they understood that people were going through stuff,” Sanning said. “But also they were the ones causing the stuff so it was weird.”
When he left Columbia to return home for the summer, police were still everywhere, with around four to five policemen standing in various areas and monitoring the campus.
“You know normally at the end of the semester, everyone’s classes are done. It’s sunny, so everyone’s just like standing out on the lawns playing games. But it was silent,” Sanning said. “No laughter, no games, no music, just cops standing around and quiet.”
Sanning said that it would take a while for the Columbia University community to rebuild and that the divide between people for and against the protests “cut us in two.” However, he does not regret his decision to study at Columbia.
“I do still believe that Colombia is a great place. But I think that the strength of Colombia lies in the diversity of its students and the things that we do and what we believe,” Sanning said.
“And I think that the university itself may not support that fully, but I still love Colombia as a community.”
For Sanning returning home is a breath of fresh air. He has missed nature and the small town life away from the city.
“I’m glad to be back where it’s peaceful. Where I’m not afraid to, you know, walk around,” Sanning said