The New York Police Department evacuated on Thursday the Milstein Library at Barnard College, Columbia University, after receiving a bomb threat, coinciding with student protests in support of Palestine on campus.According to a statement issued by Barnard College President Laura Rosenbury, several offices at the college received a pipe bomb threat inside the library, which required the intervention of police and firefighters to evacuate the building as a precaution, with the possibility of expanding searches on campus.The university administration stressed to the police the need to avoid arrests during the evacuation process, adding that any legal action should be a ‘last resort’ in the event that security threat assessments are obstructed.For its part, the Students for Justice in Palestine group accused the college administration of using the bomb threat as a pretext to suppress anti-Israel protests, noting that students were forced to move 1,000 feet away from the library, while residents of the nearby university dormitory were not notified of the evacuation.
