Kicking Visible in Univision Footage

Video footage from the Spanish-language news station Univision, which was available online yesterday for the first time, shows a clear act of violence during the melee that ended the Minutemen speaking event last Wednesday night.

Protesters stormed the stage during a speech by Jim Gilchrist, founder of the Minuteman Project, who was invited to speak on campus by the Columbia University College Republicans.

The television clip, recently posted on the public video-sharing Web site YouTube, shows a man wearing a blue baseball cap kicking a protester during the chaotic rush of the stage, supporting the claim by protesters that any violence was perpetrated by the Minutemen and their supporters.

Other students reported that one protester was kicked in the head by one of Gilchrist's supporters and bleeding, but the injured student did not wish to give his name.

Later, the Gilchrist supporter, wearing a white T-shirt from a Nevada plumber's union, is shown standing with Gilchrist and reciting the Pledge of Allegiance while security breaks up the fight.

Though the identity of the man remains unclear, the same person appears in photos published in the Village Voice this past June of a confrontation between Minutemen supporters and protesters in front of the Mexican Consulate in New York City.

Karina Garcia, CC '07 and political chair of the Chicano Caucus, was one of the students on stage. She said she saw protesters being hit and kicked as they tried to climb onto the stage, and one friend was kneed in the stomach.

An unidentified young man is seen violently tearing down a white banner held by several students. While it had been speculated that this was Chris Kulawik, CC '08, president of the College Republicans and a Spectator columnist, this individual is shown dressed in a black shirt and pants, not the suit jacket and maroon shirt Kulawik was wearing.

When asked last week whether any other students from the College Republicans were on stage during the scuffle, Kulawik said, "It was so hectic, I really don't remember."

On Sunday night, Kulawik said that he didn't want to comment because he hadn't seen all of the Univision footage. "There has to have been" violence on both sides, he said.

"The fact that they rushed the stage was itself a violent act. They were up there yelling in their [the Minutemen's] faces," Kulawik said. He said Minuteman speaker Marvin Stewart told him he "felt threatened [when students came onstage], and that's when he reached for his pepper spray."

While administrators from Student Affairs have met with students, there is still no word on disciplinary actions for those involved.

John Davisson contributed to this article.