Columbia University revealed they were making several policy changes such as allowing campus police officers to make arrests, rules regarding protesting, and discipline, among others.
In a memo from the university, it was revealed that Columbia was working “hard to address the legitimate concerns” from within and outside the university community regarding “harassment, and antisemitic acts.” The memo from the university comes after the Trump administration revealed that it had cancelled roughly $400 million worth of grants and contracts to the Columbia.
“Columbia University has, throughout its storied history, faced many challenges and obstacles,” the memo said. “We have worked hard to address the legitimate concerns raised both from within and without our Columbia community, including by our regulators, with respect to the administration, harassment, and antisemitic acts our Jewish community has faced in the wake of October 7, 2023. We are proud to share key parts of our comprehensive strategy to make our campus safer, more welcoming, and respectful of the rights of all. Columbia is announcing several additional actions as part of that effort.”
The memo clarified that “students who violated” the university rules during their involvement in the first anti-Israel encampment at Columbia University in the spring of 2024, or “at Hamilton Hall have been suspended, expelled, or had their degrees temporarily revoked.”
In April 2024, an anti-Israel encampment was established at Columbia University, which resulted in arrests and students being suspended. A second one was established, and remained until the New York Police Department conducted a raid after protesters seized control of Hamilton Hall.
The anti-Israel encampment at Columbia University inspired others to be established at universities such as George Washington University, Yale University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and the University of Southern California, among others.
The memo also adds that while the university supports free speech, “demonstrations and other protest activities that occur inside academic buildings and places where academic activities take place present a direct impediment” to the university’s “core academic mission.”:
Clarification of time, place, and manner restrictions. We support free speech. Freedom of expression is what enables the rigorous debate and free inquiry on which our academic mission depends. But demonstrations and other protest activities that occur inside academic buildings and places where academic activities take place present a direct impediment to maintaining our core academic mission. Based upon the experience of peer schools, Columbia is clarifying that such protests in academic buildings, and other places necessary for the conduct of University activities, are generally not acceptable under the Rules of University Conduct because of the likelihood of disrupting academic activities. All demonstration activity is subject to the University’s anti-discrimination and anti-harassment policies.
People who take part in protests or demonstrations and wear a facial covering will also have to “present their University identification to the satisfaction of a University Delegate or Public Safety officer,” according to the memo.
“Individuals who fail to comply with these policies will be subject to discipline, being escorted off campus, and detention for trespass where appropriate,” the memo continues.
The memo also notes that while masks and facial coverings “are always allowed for religious or medical reasons,” masks or facial coverings “are not allowed for the purpose of concealing one’s identity.”
Columbia University also noted that it had hired “36 special officers” who are allowed to “remove individuals from campus” or make arrests “when appropriate.”
The memo also adds that the university’s “new Senior Vice Provost” will “conduct a thorough review of the portfolio of programs in areas across the University, starting immediately with the Middle East. This review will include the Center for Palestine Studies; the Institute for Israel and Jewish Studies; Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African Studies; the Middle East Institute; the Tel Aviv and Amman global hubs,” as well as the School of International and Public Affairs Middle East Policy major.
In a letter on Friday, Columbia University’s Interim President, Katrina Armstrong, expressed that while the university has challenges, “they do not define” them.
“We are a community of scholars who have deep respect for each other and our mission,” Armstrong added. “We teach the brightest, most creative students in the world, and we care deeply for each and every one of them. I have every faith in our ability to overcome the greatest of challenges. We stand resilient and brilliant.”
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