NYPD stands outside Hamilton Hall at Columbia University in New York, on Tuesday. Photo: Ryland West/ALM

After pro-Palestinian protesters broke into a campus building, school officials closed down building access to Columbia Law School, as well as the main grounds of Columbia University, according to a Tuesday morning announcement from the school. Effective immediately, access to the Morningside campus has been limited to students residing in residential buildings on campus (Carman, Furnald, John Jay, Hartley, Wallach, East Campus and Wien) and employees who provide essential services to campus buildings, labs and residential student life, according to an update posted on Tuesday morning. "Due to ongoing access restrictions on Columbia's Morningside campus, all Law School buildings are currently closed. Students, faculty, and staff will not be permitted entry," the law school's home page said Tuesday. Early on Tuesday, a group of protesters occupied Hamilton Hall on the Morningside campus, confirmed a Columbia update. Social media photos and videos showed protesters breaking into Hamilton Hall and smashing door glass. Some were shown holding flags and banners outside the windows of the hall. "We regret that protesters have chosen to escalate the situation through their actions" and have created "an untenable situation—vandalizing property, breaking doors and windows, and blockading entrances," Columbia University spokesperson Ben Chang said in an update early Tuesday afternoon. Students occupying the building will face expulsion, which is "about responding to the actions of the protesters, not their cause," according to Chang. "Our top priority is restoring safety and order on our campus," Chang wrote, adding that university administrators "made it very clear [Monday] that the work of the university cannot be endlessly interrupted by protesters who violate the rules." All campus entry points are closed with security personnel remaining in place at the Wien Gate for individuals requiring disability access to Wien Hall and East Campus, Columbia said. According to a Monday evening update from Columbia administrators, students who did not voluntarily leave by a 2 p.m. deadline would be placed on suspension, and they would be ineligible to complete the semester or graduate. They would also be restricted from all academic, residential and recreational spaces. Officials closed building access, including access to the law library, as law students and others prepare and take final exams, which are scheduled through May 9. Graduation is set for May 13. According to a message from Law School Senior Operations Team, sent to the law school community on Tuesday, students who wish to proceed with remote exams as scheduled for today may do so but since administration and staff are working remotely, paper copies of exams will not be provided nor will students be able to access on-campus quiet rooms for exam taking. Students may reschedule exams scheduled for today via the online request form, the message noted. The message also states that the Registrar's Office would contact students about exams in progress, although an automatic email sent to Law.com from the Registrar said that all on-campus exams were canceled for Tuesday. "This is an evolving situation and we encourage members of our community to continue to monitor communications from campus for the latest updates," the message stated. This is a developing news story.