A review of those arrested in the chaotic raid on Columbia University’s Butler Library reveals a striking statistic: over 11 percent of the 81 individuals taken into custody identify with “they/them” pronouns, based on reporting from the Washington Free Beacon. That figure dwarfs the national average of 1.6 percent and is more than double the 5 percent reported among young adults under 30, according to Pew Research.
The group, consisting of professional activists, poets, writers, and students, stormed the campus library on Wednesday, May 7. They vandalized university property, distributed pro-Hamas materials, and injured two campus security personnel. Authorities offered them a peaceful exit if they presented identification, but the group refused and were arrested after a standoff.
Several arrestees have long histories of transgender activism and progressive organizing. Khanh Doan, a Vietnamese national using they/she pronouns, may face visa scrutiny. Senator Marco Rubio said the State Department is “reviewing the visa status of the trespassers and vandals who took over Columbia University’s library.”
Among the arrested was Rose Bottorf, a repeat agitator previously detained during April’s pro-Hamas unrest. Bottorf uses all three pronouns—”they/she/he”—and has worked at several progressive institutions including the defunct City Mission Boston and a human rights group in Ireland. Another, Leigh Oldershaw, a gender-nonconforming student at Columbia, previously authored a novel featuring a transgender teen character.
Barnard College junior Haven Capone (she/they) was also arrested. Known for poetry and quirky social posts, Capone has written of body dysphoria and identity struggles. Bryanna Paz (she/they), a Columbia graduate student, has previously protested Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation and criticized perceived racism in college radio stations.
Fairbanks, Alaska native Zoe Foshee (they/she), a Barnard sophomore, has a background in progressive activism and now works at Planned Parenthood as a voter engagement specialist. Lucas Pasquina, a senior at Columbia, has used their position in student government and past internships to advocate for “restorative justice” and “intersectional queer liberation.” Pasquina’s writings criticize Columbia for insufficient support of “low-income queer students of color.”
Sean Dunnsue (he/they), a graduate student in social work, has a background in dismantling “toxic masculinity” and blames men broadly for interpersonal violence. “I felt complicit,” Dunnsue admitted. “There are a lot of parallels between masculinity and interpersonal violence.”
Joie Lew (they/them), studying human rights at Columbia, has written against conservative state legislation, arguing that it “whitewashes our nation’s history.” Lew previously created a “Queer Qollective” at Southern Methodist University aimed at overhauling housing and student policy infrastructure for LGBTQIA+ students.
The striking overrepresentation of gender-nonconforming activists in this incident raises questions about the intersection of identity politics and radical activism. Michael Lucas, an openly gay supporter of Israel, criticized the protestors, saying, “They go through a lot of bullying and mistreatment and unfortunately a lot of them become very damaged people. So they have no common sense and end up taking the side of Hamas, even knowing that these people would kill them in the most barbaric way.”
