Columbia University restricts access to its main campus in NYC – NBC New York (47)

NEW YORK – Columbia University administrators announced campus access weeks before students and staff return for the 2024-2025 academic year.

On Monday, the university’s color-coded campus status shifted to “orange,” allowing only Columbia-affiliated individuals on campus. Students and staff must carry proper identification while on the school’s Manhattan campus.

“This change is to keep our community safe, with reports of potential disturbances in Columbia and on college campuses across the country as we approach the start of the new school year,” Cas said. Holloway, Columbia University’s chief operating officer, in her message over the weekend.

“We are especially concerned about the unaffiliated who do not have the interests of the Columbia community in mind,” Holloway said.

Guests will be allowed on campus, however, they must go through a registration process announced by university officials in June.

The university administration said it recognizes the “inconvenience” the access change will have for students and faculty.

The weekend announcement, made just three weeks before the start of the school year, included a list of five access points around campus where students and staff can enter 24 hours a day. These entry points include:

• College Way at 116th Street and Broadway
• College Way at 116th Street and Amsterdam Avenue
• Vienna Gate at 116th Street between Amsterdam Avenue and Morningside Drive
• John Jay Gate on 114th Street into Broadway and Amsterdam Avenue
• Northwest Corner Building at 120th Street and Broadway (CUID card access between 5:30am and 10:30pm, 7 days a week)

Columbia University became the site of regular protests this spring, as college students on campuses across the country pressured the administration to withdraw from Israel and called for a ceasefire.

The protests came to a head just before graduation, when the New York Police Department sent thousands of officers to several city schools to clear protesters and sweep encampments.

Columbia University will resume classes on September 3.