VIDEO TRANSCRIPT:

Nearly two dozen students say they were sprayed with a hazardous, foul-smelling chemical while attending a pro-Palestinian “divestment now” rally on Low Steps on Friday, Spectator reported Monday morning.

In interviews and testimonials collected by Spectator, 18 students reported a putrid odor during or after the protest, 10 reported physical symptoms such as burning eyes, headaches, and nausea—with three seeking medical attention—and eight reported property damage.

On Monday evening, interim University Provost Dennis Mitchell wrote an email to the Columbia community about the “deeply troubling incident,” adding that “The New York City Police Department is taking the lead role in investigating what appear to have been serious crimes, possibly hate crimes.”

Mitchell wrote that “the University received additional information Sunday night. As a result, the alleged perpetrators identified to the University were immediately banned from campus while the law enforcement investigation proceeds.”

He wrote that Public Safety is “actively working with local and federal authorities.” A New York Police Department spokesperson told Spectator on Monday evening that the department had received six reports of assault regarding the incident.

While Mitchell’s email mentioned “alleged perpetrators,” the University did not disclose further details on the identities of these individuals, including how many were barred from campus or whether they were students. The NYPD had not publicly released any information about potential suspects as of Monday.

Mitchell’s email also did not specify what protesters were allegedly sprayed with outside of citing student reports that described it as a “foul-smelling substance that required students to seek medical treatment.”

“We condemn in the strongest possible terms any threats or acts of violence directed toward anyone in our community. The University is committed to taking urgent action,” Mitchell wrote.

A member of Columbia’s chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine and one of the speakers at Friday’s demonstration, Maryam Iqbal, Barnard class of 2027, said she first noticed the smell when the group left Low Steps to march around campus. She described it as “a really strong smell of poop mixed with decaying animal.”

Iqbal said she could still smell the foul odor, specifically emanating from her jacket, when she returned to her dorm after the protest. She said she then texted some friends who attended the protest about the smell.

“Everybody was like, ‘Oh my god, I thought I was going insane,’” Iqbal said.

Maia, Barnard class of 2024, who spoke to Spectator on the condition that she be identified by only her first name citing safety concerns, said she saw an individual in an orange jacket approaching protesters from behind and pausing during the rally.

She said two people, whose faces were “pretty much all covered” by keffiyehs, stood out to her because their keffiyehs appeared to be a slightly different color and pattern from traditional ones.

“Once they were closest to me, behind someone that was near me, I heard a little spraying sound,” Maia said. She said she noticed the individuals walk away, “and then it started smelling really bad.”

Layla Saliba, School of Social Work class of 2025, said she noticed individuals of the same description—one with an orange jacket and white sunglasses, but neither wearing keffiyehs—acting “unusual.” The individuals approached students holding a “CU Jews for Ceasefire” banner and called the protesters “self-hating Jews,” she said.

Saliba said that at the time, she was unaware of the alleged spraying. “They were referring to students as ‘Jew killers’ and ‘terrorists,’” she said.

“They seemed very uncomfortable with being photographed,” Saliba added. She said that it seemed “like they wanted to get away as quickly as possible.”

Saliba said that she went to an urgent care center following the alleged attack, reporting physical symptoms including fatigue, headaches, and nausea. Doctors diagnosed Saliba with “exposure to a harmful chemical” and told her that she will have to miss class “for a few days” due to her “severe pain,” she said.

Columbia’s Rules of University Conduct explicitly prohibit the use of a “dangerous or noxious chemical” during a demonstration and considers it a “serious” violation.

One of the main organizers of Friday’s rally, Columbia University Apartheid Divest, is an unrecognized student group and is not authorized to hold events on campus, according to University event policy.

The University unilaterally revised its event policies in November, 17 days before suspending SJP and Columbia’s chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace.

“Friday’s event was unsanctioned and violated university policies and procedures which are in place to ensure there is adequate personnel on the ground to keep our community safe,” a Columbia University official wrote in a statement to Spectator on Sunday morning.

University delegates distributed flyers to students at the rally threatening “interim sanctions by the Provost up to and including suspension for the rest of the semester.”

Saliba said the alleged attack has made for an “incredibly hostile environment to learn.”

“I went on campus today, I went to Public Safety to talk to them about this, and it’s like, this is not something that your body forgets easily,” Saliba said. “When I was walking past Alma Mater and Low, my body physically recoiled. I was so uncomfortable.”

University officials requested access to photos and videos referenced in Spectator’s coverage to assist in their investigation, but Spectator denied the request.

Spectator is instead publicizing the exclusive visual material that—alongside student sources, University statements, and information from the NYPD—served as the basis of Monday morning’s report.

Below is all of the footage and photography taken by Spectator reporters, photographers, and videographers on the afternoon of Friday’s protest in chronological order, with timestamps. Some of the material reveals previously unseen imagery of individuals that matches protesters’ descriptions of those they accused of the alleged attack.