Severin Fowles is a Barnard College professor of anthropology who acted as a mediator during a February 26, 2025 sit-in at Milbank Hall, where protesters illegally occupied campus property in defense of students expelled for distributing violent, antisemitic materials and disrupting classes.
Background of the Sit-In
On February 26, 2025, dozens of protesters staged a sit-in outside the office of Barnard Dean Leslie Grinage inside Milbank Hall. The protest demanded the immediate reversal of the expulsions of two Barnard students who had been disciplined for disrupting a History of Modern Israel class in January 2025 and distributing flyers calling for violence against Jews.
The sit-in was organized and promoted by Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD), which framed the expulsions as political repression and demanded amnesty for all students involved in pro-Palestinian actions, abolition of Barnard’s disciplinary process, and a public meeting with senior administrators.
During the sit-in, protesters blocked access to the building, covered security cameras, vandalized walls with extremist slogans, and forced the cancellation or relocation of classes. Barnard later confirmed that a campus security employee was physically assaulted during the occupation and transported to the hospital for treatment.
An NYPD spokesperson confirmed that an assault report was filed in the vicinity of Milbank Hall.
Fowles’s Role as Mediator
Severin Fowles entered Milbank Hall as the third faculty mediator tasked with liaising between the protesters and the administration.
Video recordings captured Fowles reassuring protesters that “NYPD won’t come for the next hour,” despite the ongoing illegal occupation of campus property and the reported assault of a security guard.
Fowles further told the protesters that after the sit-in concluded, faculty members would “all hang out, to make sure that you’re ok,” offering personal reassurance to students who were actively violating campus rules during a volatile situation.
Fowles also told protesters that statements condemning the sit-in published in the press did not originate from Dean Grinage and emphasized that she had not been in communication with the NYPD.
Later in the evening, Fowles informed protesters that regardless of their final decision, they would be given five minutes to disperse following any discussion with administrators without immediate disciplinary consequences.
Administrative and Law Enforcement Response
Barnard College publicly condemned the sit-in, stating that masked protesters forcibly entered Milbank Hall, encouraged unauthorized access, and showed “blatant disregard for the safety of our community.”
The college issued formal notices to protesters citing violations of Barnard’s Rules for the Maintenance of Public Order, Temporary Policy for Safe Campus Demonstrations, Posting Policy, and Code of Conduct.
Barnard leadership emphasized that violence and intimidation have no place on campus and later restricted campus access to ID holders only following the incident.
The House Committee on Education and the Workforce publicly stated that Barnard was right to expel students who disrupted classes and distributed flyers calling for the death of Jews, warning that negotiating with pro-terror protesters who break campus rules should be out of the question.
Significance
Fowles’s conduct placed a faculty member in the role of reassuring and shielding protesters engaged in an unlawful occupation, at a time when campus safety had already been compromised and a staff member had been hospitalized.
His actions illustrate how faculty mediation has, in some cases, functioned less as de-escalation and more as informal protection for activists engaged in disruptive and allegedly violent conduct on campus.
