Columbia University President Minouche Shafik begs protesters to ‘voluntarily disperse’ again as she’s slammed for failing to crack down on pro Palestine ‘agitators’ holding the campus hostage
Dear fellow members of the Columbia community,
Our university is committed to four core principles, which underpin all our work and our shared values as a community:
First, we must keep all members of our community physically safe on campus.
Second, we are committed to academic freedom and ensuring that all members of our community have the right to express their opinions.
Third, just as everyone at Columbia has the right to express their opinions, they must also respect the rights of others to do the same. As a result, protests must adhere to time, place and manner restrictions that, for example, prevent loud protests at night when other students are trying to sleep or prepare for exams. One group’s right to express their opinions should not come at the expense of another group’s right to speak, teach and learn.
Fourth, our values – as well as our duties under civil rights laws – compel us to condemn hate and protect every member of our community from harassment and discrimination. Anti-Semitic language and actions are unacceptable and calls for violence are downright abhorrent.
I know that many of our Jewish students, as well as other students, have found the atmosphere unbearable in recent weeks. Many have left campus, and that is a tragedy. To those students and their families, I want to say clearly to you: you are a valued part of the Columbia community. This is your campus too. We are committed to making Columbia safe for everyone and making you feel welcome and valued.
We have worked hard to balance these principles. To that end, a small group of academic leaders has been engaged in constructive dialogue with student organizers since Wednesday to find a path that would result in the dismantling of the encampment and compliance with university policies going forward. Unfortunately, we were unable to reach an agreement.
Both sides have made robust and thoughtful offers in these discussions and worked in good faith to reach an agreement. We thank them all for their diligent work, long hours and careful effort and wish they had achieved a different result.
The university’s goal for the talks was a collaborative solution with the protesters that would result in the orderly removal of the encampment from the lawn. The students were also asked to commit to following the university’s rules, including those governing the time, place and manner of demonstrations and events.
While the university will not divest from Israel, the university has offered to develop an accelerated timeline for the review of new student proposals by the Advisory Committee on Socially Responsible Investment, the body that reviews divestment issues. The university also offered to publish a process for students to access a list of Columbia’s direct investment holdings, and to increase the frequency of updates to that list of holdings.
In addition, the university offered to convene a faculty committee to address academic freedom and begin a discussion about access and financial barriers to academic programs and global centers. The university also offered to invest in healthcare and education in Gaza, including supporting early childhood development and support for displaced scientists. Important ideas emerged from this dialogue, and we plan to explore these in the future.
As the past seven months have shown, our campus is wracked by division over the war in Gaza. Throughout the year, we have sought to facilitate opportunities for our students and faculty to engage in constructive dialogue, and we have provided ample space for protests and vigils to take place peacefully and without disruption to academic life.
But we must take into account the rights of all members of our community. The encampment has created an unwelcoming environment for many of our Jewish students and faculty. External actors have helped create a hostile environment in violation of Title VI, especially around our gates, that is unsafe for everyone – including our neighbors. With classes almost at an end, this means a noisy distraction for our students studying for exams and for everyone trying to complete the academic year.
In accordance with our interim demonstration policy, protests following reading days, exams and Commencement on campus may continue upon request with two days’ notice at authorized locations. We do not intend to suppress speech or the right to peaceful protest.
We also do not want to deprive thousands of students and their family and friends of a graduation ceremony. Consider that many in this graduating class did not celebrate when they graduated from high school because of the pandemic, and many of them are the first in their families to earn a college degree. We owe it to all of our graduates and their loved ones to honor their achievement. We want to reassure our community who are trying to make plans that we will indeed be holding a Commencement.
For all of the above reasons, we urge those in the encampment to disperse voluntarily. We are consulting with a broader group in our community to explore alternative internal options to end this crisis as quickly as possible. We will continue to inform the community about new developments.
Honestly,
Minouche Shafik President, Columbia University, New York City