When Justin Kim, CC ’21, attended Columbia University College Republicans’ Tommy Robinson event last October, he anticipated fervent protests but didn’t expect to find himself at the center of the conflict.

In response to Columbia University College Republicans’ Free Speech Month, organizers of many activist groups such as Student-Worker Solidarity, Columbia Divest for Climate Justice, UndoCU, and No Red Tape united in order to show opposition. One left-wing activist group, however, has remained independent from this union: Columbia University Democrats.

Over 250 students and community members protested white supremacist Mike Cernovich’s event hosted by Columbia University College Republicans on Monday night, pushing through Public Safety barricades surrounding Lerner Hall and crowding the entrance to the building throughout the speech.

More than thirty protesters interrupted a speech by white nationalist Tommy Robinson Tuesday night, holding signs that read “hate speech = violence” and “Muslims are welcome here,” while over 250 other protesters gathered outside of Lerner Hall, with some banging on the doors to the auditorium.

While white nationalist Tommy Robinson, an outspoken critic of Islam and immigration, speaks at a Columbia University College Republicans event on Tuesday, protests organized by the Southern Poverty Law Center chapter at Columbia, Black Lives Matter of Greater New York, and undergraduate activists will come together in front of Lerner Hall.

Columbia University College Republicans’ decision to invite far-right speakers and those outside the mainstream political establishment this fall marks a departure from the group’s ideology in previous years, prompting some of the its alumni to worry that moderate conservatives will be alienated by CUCR.

Mayor Bill de Blasio, SIPA ’87, fielded questions from students regarding his plan to close Rikers Island jail, his relationship with police union leaders, and problems with the New York City subways during a guest lecture at Columbia on Tuesday afternoon.

As the number of students who use Disability Services reaches a record high, the office will hire five new employees this semester in an attempt to decrease wait times for student accommodations.

Columbia University College Republicans has invited white nationalist figures including Tommy Robinson and Mike Cernovich to speak on campus this semester, drawing statements of concern from other student organizations.

Amid mounting calls from alumni for the University to allow the Columbia University Marching Band to hold its Orgo Night performance in Butler Library, administrators say they will stand by their decision to prevent the long-standing tradition from taking place in the library this semester.