Sueda Polat is a Columbia University student who played a central organizing, negotiating, and spokesperson role in the April–May 2024 pro-Hamas encampment at Columbia, publicly defending the occupation of campus property, endorsing confrontations with police, and promoting the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement.

Role in Planning and Organizing the Encampment

Multiple sources identified Polat as a key organizer of the Columbia encampment that began on April 17, 2024.

The X account Documenting Jew Hatred on Campus at Columbia U identified Polat as helping plan the “Resistance 101” event, a training session linked to the encampment movement. The Columbia student news site Bwog also referred to Polat as an organizer and negotiator for the protest, alongside Mahmoud Khalil.

According to a May 2024 report in The Wall Street Journal, Polat not only spoke on behalf of protesters to the media but also “helped set up” the encampment.

The encampment was widely criticized for illegal occupation of university grounds, antisemitic rhetoric, chants calling for violent “intifada,” and expressions of support for designated terrorist organizations. Numerous participants were arrested during the protest and subsequent building takeovers.

Negotiator and Public Spokesperson

Polat repeatedly acted as a public spokesperson and negotiator for the encampment.

On April 26, 2024, Polat told The Wall Street Journal in a video interview that she was “a student organizer with Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD)” and “one of two negotiators,” stating that she had been present since the encampment began.

On April 27, 2024, The Washington Post quoted Polat saying that students were “prepared to confront militarized police violence” and that observers underestimated how “powerful and tough” students were.

On April 29, 2024, during a press conference, Polat criticized Columbia’s negotiations with protest leaders and reiterated the protesters’ core demand of divestment. She stated that protesters would not leave the encampment “unless by force.” During her remarks, protesters in the background chanted: “There is only one solution, intifada revolution!”

The term “intifada” is widely associated with waves of terrorist violence against Israeli civilians, including suicide bombings, stabbings, and shootings.

Defense of Illegal Activity and Outside Training

Polat defended the conduct of protesters despite documented incidents of criminal damage to university facilities, including the occupation and vandalism of Hamilton Hall. She reportedly maintained that students would not leave the encampment voluntarily.

According to The Wall Street Journal, Polat said that Columbia student organizers learned protest discipline and planning from previous activism, including Black Lives Matter demonstrations and student labor organizing.

The Times of Israel similarly reported that Polat said protesters learned how to fundraise, plan, and sustain an effective protest movement from their prior involvement in Black Lives Matter marches.

Other reporting indicated that Columbia protesters also received guidance from outside groups, including Samidoun, which has since been designated a terrorist organization and appeared at a virtual “Resistance 101” training session linked to encampment activity.

Significance

Polat’s statements and actions place her among the core leadership of the Columbia encampment, not merely as a participant but as an organizer, negotiator, and public advocate. Her role illustrates how student-led campus occupations were coordinated, trained, and sustained, including through tactics learned from prior protest movements and external activist networks.