Six days after Columbia’s campus closed to the public as countering Call to Action for Palestine and Students Supporting Israel protests mounted on Butler Lawn, University President Minouche Shafik has released a statement on “upholding [University] values.” 

On Wednesday, October 18, Columbia University President Minouche Shafik sent an email to the Columbia community, addressing what she called the “great distress” felt by the University community “over the terror attacks on Israel and the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.”. Shafik’s email came six days after the respective Call to Action for Palestine and Students Supporting Israel protests were staged on Butler lawns. The full text of the email can be found below.

In her email, Shafik emphasizes that Columbia’s “priority is providing immediate support to Columbia community members whose lives have been directly affected”, noting what she called an “extremely charged” atmosphere on campus. Shafik also responded to student concerns about safety by addressing the recently increased presence of public security on campus, which include both outside security firms and officers from the New York City Police Department. 

In her email, Shafik also expressed disappointment in those who “are using this moment to spread antisemitism, Islamophobia, bigotry against Palestinians and Israelis, and various other forms of hate.” Shafik said she was “disheartened” that “some of this abhorrent rhetoric is coming from members of our community, including members of our faculty and staff.” Though Shafik did not mention specific incidents, on Thursday, University radio station WCKR published a recording of an individual claiming to be an “Officer of Administration” with the University verbally attacking the Call to Action protest, saying, “I hope every one of these people dies.”  

Notably, Shafik also said she had been made aware that “some students, including at Columbia, have been victims of doxing,” including online harassment and the publication of their names and personal information by “extremists.” Shafik called for any incident of doxing to be reported to the University, and said that “when applicable, [Columbia] will refer these cases to external authorities.” Shafik concluded the email by thanking “all those who have shown great compassion, leadership, and kindness in recent days,” and reiterating the University’s commitment to being a positive space for learning.

Similar communications were sent out earlier this week by Barnard administrators, including President Laura Rosenbury, Dean of the College Leslie Grinage, and Vice President for Inclusion and Engaged Learning Jennifer Rosales, extending condolences to those affected and reiterating support for all members of the community. In their email, Grinage and Rosales reminded students about Barnard College’s Policy against Discrimination and Harassment, writing, “Barnard will not tolerate threats or hate speech.”

Shafik’s email did not reveal whether Columbia plans to respond or adhere to the demands outlined by organizers of the Call to Action for Palestine protest, which included both major changes, such as asking the University to “divest from companies profiting from Israeli apartheid” and to cancel the opening of the Tel Aviv Global Center and cease the University’s dual-degree partnership with Tel Aviv University, among others. In the open letter where these demands were articulated, SJP and SVP also noted that “both former Columbia and Barnard presidents unilaterally & anti-democratically ignored the student body referendums to divest in 2020.” 

Email from Columbia President Minouche Shafik to students on Wednesday, October 18 at 3:28 pm:

Dear fellow members of the Columbia community,

Many of our students, faculty, staff, and colleagues are suffering great distress over the terror attacks on Israel and the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Let me first say that there are no words to describe the fear and anxiety people experience when lives are at risk. To those who are struggling, you are never far from my thoughts, and Columbia will do everything possible to support you.

As we grapple with these challenging circumstances, it is important to clarify and reaffirm several guiding principles for how Columbia can stay true to its mission while upholding important values in our interactions with one another.

During any crisis in the world, our priority is providing immediate support to Columbia community members whose lives have been directly affected. Our day-to-day duty of care for the security and well-being of our students, faculty, and staff is paramount. Some students may need special accommodations as they cope with fear and grief, and those arrangements can be made through advisors or deans of students.

We know that the atmosphere on campus is extremely charged, and some of you have expressed concern about your personal security. Let me reassure you that the University will take all available steps to help you. We have increased public safety presence across all of our campuses. We are also working with outside security firms for additional support and are in regular contact with the New York City Police Department. We have added resources to our existing hotline and escort service and I encourage anyone who is concerned about their safety to use it.

Debate, advocacy, and protest are essential ways for students to address and process political and social turmoil, and we are duty-bound to ensure they can gather and express themselves. We will continue to observe all necessary safeguards around these activities and will work closely with students to ensure that they adhere to our event guidelines.

Unfortunately, some are using this moment to spread antisemitism, Islamophobia, bigotry against Palestinians and Israelis, and various other forms of hate. I have been disheartened that some of this abhorrent rhetoric is coming from members of our community, including members of our faculty and staff. Especially at a time of pain and anger, we must avoid language that vilifies, threatens, or stereotypes entire groups of people. It is antithetical to Columbia’s values and can lead to acts of harassment or violence. When this type of speech is unlawful or violates University rules, it will not be tolerated.

Some students, including at Columbia, have been victims of doxing. This form of online harassment, involving the public posting of names and personal information, has been used by extremists to target communities and individuals. This kind of behavior also will not be tolerated and should be reported through appropriate school channels. When applicable, we will refer these cases to external authorities.

Universities play a vital role in society by fostering critical thinking, scholarship, and, ideally, opening minds to different points of view. But for universities to be effective, we must use our voices differently than other institutions. Unlike a political organization or advocacy group, Columbia’s role is to create space for our scholars and students to fill with their own moral and intellectual conversations, an essential function in a world in which that space is narrowing.

That doesn’t mean we don’t have values. A shared commitment to civility, respect, and empathy must guide how we interact with one another. It is not what we believe, but how we treat people who don’t share our views, that shapes the character of our community and ultimately educates and empowers new generations of engaged citizens. Our focus must be de-escalating tensions, modeling respectful behavior, and finding common ground in our shared humanity.

On a personal note, I want to thank all those who have shown great compassion, leadership, and kindness in recent days. Whether this has been providing spiritual or emotional care for students, supporting friends and colleagues in distress, taking part in thoughtful classroom discussions or seminars—you are exemplars of the best of Columbia. 

Sincerely,

Minouche Shafik

President, Columbia University in the City of New York

Email from Dean of Barnard College Leslie Grinage and Vice President for Inclusion and Engaged Learning Jennifer Rosales to Barnard students on Saturday, October 14, at 9:03 pm: 

Dear Barnard Students,

We reach out to you again, after a profoundly difficult week, with our sympathy and support. Many of us, in our own way, have felt intense anger, sorrow, uncertainty, and horror this week. 

Our pain is not solely about what is happening to Israelis and Palestinians in the Middle East, either. Here at Barnard, some students are scared to move around their own campus, and some students are scared to go to class. There are troubling stories of intimidation, hurtful language, and expressions of anti-Semitism and Islamophobia, both subtle and overt.

This is not acceptable. Barnard is fundamentally committed to diversity and to the free exchange of ideas. Barnard will not tolerate threats or hate speech. Please see the College’s Policy against Discrimination and Harassment. The Office of Nondiscrimination and Title IX, now under the leadership of the Office of Inclusion and Engaged Learning, is designated to address these reports.  

But we write to you today not about policies or statements, but about what is at stake right now for each of us. 

Even as we acknowledge the reality of what we are experiencing and the validity of what we feel, each of us faces a choice: Do we take our outrage and our grief and our fear and turn it against one another? Or do we choose, however challenging it might be, to cultivate the kind of community we aspire to? 

The Barnard community is defined and shaped in our difficult moments. We have seen this community come together in hard times and come out of it better for our response to a challenge. We know it can be done. 

But it does not happen because the institution mandates it, or hands it to us. Our communal character and direction grows through the hundreds of choices each individual makes in the moment. We ask you, in this moment, to care for one another, and to build the kind of community that reflects our best selves.

Campus Life and Student Experience, Health & Wellness, and Inclusion and Engaged Learning will host Tea on Tuesdays from 11 a.m.-12 p.m in 115 Milbank.  All members of our community are invited to drop-in for community, comfort, or conversation.  

In community,

Leslie Grinage

Vice President for Campus Life and Student Experience and Dean of the College 

Jennifer Rosales

Vice President for Inclusion and Engaged Learning and Chief Diversity Officer
 

List of Offices and Resources: 

• Furman Counseling Center: 100 Hewitt Hall, 212-854-2092.
• After-hours psychological emergency line: 855-622-1903.
• International SOS for students who are abroad: +1-215-942-8478.
  Deans’ Office for Advising and Support (Class Deans): Milbank 105, 212-854- 2024, dos@barnard.edu.
• International Student Services (ISS): Milbank 119, 212-854-1777, iss@barnard.edu.
• The Earl Hall Office of Religious Life: Religious Life Advisers can be reached for counseling and support directly through the Religious Life website, or by contacting their office at religiouslife@columbia.edu.
• The Office of Nondiscrimination and Title IX at nondiscrimination@barnard.edu. The public reporting form is located on the website.
• CARES emergency line: 212-854-6666​​​​​​; CARES non-emergency line: 212-854-3362.

Campus via Bwog Archives