Columbia University’s Task Force on Antisemitism’s first report includes an endorsement of the recently-established Interim University Policy for Safe Demonstrations, calling for its increased enforcement during active protests and follow-up consequences for its violation.

On Monday, March 4, Columbia released the first of a series of reports on its Task Force on Antisemitism. First announced via a joint statement from Columbia President Minouche Shafik, Barnard President Laura Rosenbury, and Teachers College President Thomas Bailey on November 1, 2023, the Task Force was established “as part of a commitment to ensuring that our campuses are safe, welcoming, and inclusive for Jewish students, faculty, and staff, and all of us.”

A statement was released alongside the report by President Shafik, stating that “it is essential to ensure that debates and disagreements across Columbia are rooted in academic rigor and civil discourse, and that Jewish students, faculty, and staff, and all members of our community, feel safe, supported, and included.” The statement draws upon the Interim University Policy for Safe Demonstrations which was announced February 19 and is endorsed by the task force. The policy includes clarifications and restrictions on protest locations and times in addition to others, and introduces a required minimum of two days prior registration for protests. Locations at which demonstrations and protests are permitted are, as the task force phrases, “speaker’s corners” that are “prominent” but “do not interfere with classroom learning and other essential functions of the University.” 

The report summarizes the goals of the Policy as threefold: “first, safeguarding the rights of all Columbia students, faculty, and staff to protest; second, ensuring that protests do not interfere with the rights of other Columbia affiliates to speak, teach, research, and learn; and, third, combating discrimination and harassment, including antisemitic harassment.” The report’s introduction details the “isolation and pain” said to be experienced by members of the Jewish and Israeli communities, in addition to alleged chants that are reportedly perceived to be “calls for violence.”

The executive summary of the report then addresses the alleged recent failures of the University to prevent harm to its affiliates during protests, citing that it is not sufficient to be “focused on imposing discipline after the fact.” The Task Force recommends active attempts to stop protests while they are happening, suggesting a warning to leave the premises for 10 minutes followed by a requirement of all those who remain “to show IDs and [be] given a warning, followed by discipline for subsequent violations.” The report also suggests that the University’s legal team “should clarify what speech contributes to a hostile learning or working environment.” The report proposed clarification should be achieved by providing lists of scenarios constituting hostile or non-hostile speech, such as those currently contained in the Gender-Based Misconduct and Interim Title IX Policies and Procedures for Students. The report affirmed that scenarios would create consistency in the evaluation of certain phrases by considering the intent of their delivery and the impact on their audience.

The Task Force recommends that protests be restricted to Columbia affiliates and select invited guests. It also calls for more community engagement in policy enforcement, suggesting that rule enforcement be a role played by a broader spectrum of people paid more than “a modest stipend” for their work. The report stated that community engagement and clear messaging could be enhanced by faculty cooperation, condemning  faculty members who speak at unauthorized protests and help shield non-compliant protester identities.

The report expresses concern with the enforcement of the consequences of breaking the policy rules, particularly on the individual case, arguing for more strict and timely measures. The Task Force requests that information about violations be retained in the case of future infractions by the same individuals. It calls for an increased usage of the informal report system as opposed to the formal system, a process which would include community lessons on report filing and a judicial body with the opportunity to retain case information for future investigations. The report emphasizes “time, place, and manner” restrictions, attesting, “Our right to speak must not come at the expense of the right of others to speak, teach, research, and learn. We must not use the “heckler’s veto” to shout down other speakers, tear down or deface posters, disrupt classrooms, or impede other essential functions of the University.” The Task Force affirmed this value as a tenet of intellectual inquiry. 

The report contains a statement of antidiscrimination, asserting, “The University must be a welcoming home to all students, faculty, and staff, regardless of their race, national origin, gender, religion, sexual orientation, age, disability, military service, or other legally protected status.” The Task Force calls for greater clarification on what counts as discrimination and what phrases count as “calls for genocide.”

The report ends with the reminder that “it is important to emphasize that the question of what the rules allow is not the same as the question of what members of our community actually should say and do.” It affirms the right to free expression, whether or not a stance may be controversial or offensive. Nonetheless, the Task Force calls on students to take responsibility on the impact of their words, stating, “We should never be indifferent to the pain and discomfort our words cause, regardless of the ideas we seek to advance.”
Shafik’s statement on the report ends with the notice that the policy will be reviewed at the end of the semester, as well as a commitment “to ensuring that our rules both protect free speech and foster inclusivity at Columbia.” The statement finalizes with a link to a form for suggestions and feedback on the policy.

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