President Laura Rosenbury addressed the Barnard community in a statement on Monday evening, four days after the arrests and suspensions of multiple Barnard students involved in the Gaza Solidarity Encampment.  

At 7:08 pm on Monday, April 22, President Laura Rosenbury released a statement concerning the Gaza Solidarity Encampment of Butler Library’s lawns and the additional on and off-campus protests it has inspired. This statement comes five days after the encampment’s construction and four days after the arrest and suspension of Barnard students involved in the demonstration. In her statement, Rosenbury addressed two “key aspects of Barnard’s mission:” both the College’s “commitment to open inquiry and expression” and inquiries about student conduct. 

Rosenbury’s statement affirmed that while protests on campus have remained peaceful, she believes that some of the demonstrations held by student protesters and off-campus protesters have “become intimidating.” She also emphasized that “to educate and support students with wide-ranging backgrounds and diverse perspectives, we must always respect and protect one another even when we disagree.”

Rosenbury explained that Barnard students who were placed on interim suspension were subject to such disciplinary action due to their “refusal to follow rules regarding safe demonstrations and the use of tents on the Columbia campus.” She claimed that the students’ suspensions were justified because these students did not comply with such rules after “multiple opportunities to leave the encampment without consequence” and “written notices from Barnard that warned that their continued participation in the unauthorized encampment would lead to interim suspensions.” She did not address the arrests of Barnard students, which occurred in tandem with their suspensions, or the ongoing presence of the NYPD on campus.

In response to concerns about the Barnard students suspended and evicted from their dorms and campus, Rosenbury shared that last night, the College “sent written notices to these students offering to lift the interim suspensions, and immediately restore their access to College buildings, if they agree to follow all Barnard rules during a probationary period.” If agreed upon by said students, suspension and probation will eventually be expunged from student records, including academic transcripts and disciplinary records. The students who did not receive this offer have “previously received notices regarding misconduct,” and the College will address these students’ situations through a separate conduct process. 

The current students on interim suspension, Rosenbury claimed, may not physically be on campus but may be permitted by professors to attend class and complete work online. Additionally, while they are unable to access most Barnard buildings, they “may still use College services, including healthcare, mental health counseling, and academic support.” She also noted that Leslie Grinage, the Dean of the College, is working to provide food and alternative housing arrangements for students who may need them. Bwog has not been provided with any additional information on Grinage’s “alternative housing arrangements”, other than a screenshot of an email response posted on the SJP Instagram yesterday, April 21, where she appears to offer to help a student book a flight back to their home state. 

Rosenbury also advised “maximum flexibility” from professors for students, noting that students may be absent from class due to interim suspensions or because they feel unsafe on campus. 

The email concluded with Rosenbury promising to do “everything possible to ensure that Barnard remains a safe and welcoming place for all of our students.” She also claimed she believes that “exposure to uncomfortable ideas is a vital component of education,” but while she applauds students for speaking out, “no student should fear for their safety while at Barnard, and no one should feel that they do not belong.” In response to the reports of some students exiting campus in response to the events, she stated that it is “not an outcome that achieves anything other than division and distrust.”

Finally, she addressed Barnard seniors, who started college during the COVID-19 pandemic and will “end during a global conflict,” and called for students to “be good to one another” in the semester’s final weeks. 

Email from President Rosenbury to students on Monday, at 7:08 pm:

Dear Members of the Barnard Community,

The end of the spring semester is always stressful, but these are extraordinary times, and I urge us to respond with care, generosity, and a steadfast commitment to Barnard’s mission to support and educate all students. Many of us came to Barnard because it is a place that challenges convention and promotes free thinking and social activism while nurturing the development of individual identities and diverse points of view. To educate and support students with wide-ranging backgrounds and diverse perspectives, we must always respect and protect one another even when we disagree.

This guiding principle of mutual respect and support amid disagreement does not lead to easy answers. In fact, many of you have strongly criticized actions taken by Barnard and Columbia over the past week, conveying anger and distress about the arrests and interim suspensions of students or concerns about safety on campus. I am listening carefully, and I respect those criticisms while remaining steadfast in my commitment to support and protect each and every student at Barnard. 

I write today to affirm two key aspects of Barnard’s mission and to provide more information about ongoing events and our plans for the future.

First and foremost, I affirm Barnard’s commitment to open inquiry and expression while also stressing that free expression for some should not mean that others feel unwelcome, unsafe, or threatened in the place we all share. Although many of our student protesters are using their voices in a peaceful manner, some protests on and surrounding the Columbia campus have become intimidating. Some students are even leaving our campus because they are afraid to remain. I hope we can all agree that this is not an outcome that achieves anything other than division and distrust.

Second, to support both individual voices and our community as a whole, Barnard has long articulated rules of student conduct and other policies to structure the ways we live and learn together. Nearly all of our students follow these rules, but other students have chosen to push boundaries or break rules in furtherance of their advocacy. Because the College is committed to supporting all students, we provide notice of the consequences of such decisions and seek prompt and compassionate resolution of such matters as part of our educational mission. I want you to know that this is exactly what happened, and is happening, with respect to the students placed on interim suspension last week. 

Many students who participated in the unauthorized encampment on Columbia’s campus on April 17 and 18 chose to remain in the encampment for over 30 hours even as they were warned repeatedly that the encampment violated multiple provisions of Barnard’s Student Code of Conduct. These warnings were based on the refusal to follow rules regarding safe demonstrations and the use of tents on the Columbia campus. The students rejected multiple opportunities to leave the encampment without consequence, and they remained after they received written notices from Barnard that warned that their continued participation in the unauthorized encampment would lead to interim suspensions and outlined the parameters of such suspensions. 

The interim suspensions went into effect over the course of April 18 and 19. Students on interim suspension no longer have access to most Barnard buildings, but they may still use College services, including healthcare, mental health counseling, and academic support. The Dean of the College also has made food available to students on interim suspension and is helping students find alternative housing arrangements when needed. If you know of students who need additional support, please email deanofthecollege@barnard.edu.

The vast majority of the students on interim suspension have not previously engaged in misconduct under Barnard’s rules. Last night, the College sent written notices to these students offering to lift the interim suspensions, and immediately restore their access to College buildings, if they agree to follow all Barnard rules during a probationary period. If these students choose this path, neither the interim suspension nor the probationary period will appear on the students’ academic transcripts and these sanctions will not become part of students’ reportable disciplinary records barring a finding of responsibility under the Student Code of Conduct for future misconduct. The remaining students on interim suspension have previously received notices regarding misconduct, and the College is committed to addressing these situations quickly yet thoughtfully through our conduct process. 

Students remaining on interim suspension may not physically be on campus, but Barnard professors may permit them to attend class via Zoom and otherwise complete work remotely. Indeed, Barnard has long given faculty the discretion to assist students who are absent from class for any reason. Students may be absent from class because of an interim suspension or because they do not feel safe being on campus, and I strongly encourage all faculty members to provide students with maximum flexibility.

This is an evolving situation, and I will write more as events unfold. For now, I will continue to do everything possible to ensure that Barnard remains a safe and welcoming place for all of our students. I strongly believe that exposure to uncomfortable ideas is a vital component of education, and I applaud the boldness of all of our students who speak out, but no student should fear for their safety while at Barnard, and no one should feel that they do not belong. We must always respect and protect one another, especially when we disagree. 

Our seniors have had a college experience none of us could have imagined a few years ago. Their college years began during a global pandemic and are ending during a global conflict. In these last few weeks together before our seniors graduate, let’s be good to one another. 

Very truly yours,

Laura Ann Rosenbury

President, Barnard College

Editor’s note:

This article has been updated on Tuesday, April 23 at 5:07 pm to correct a misquoting error. The previous version indicated that President Rosenbury stated the demonstrations are “not an outcome that achieves anything other than division and distrust.” Bwog has corrected this to indicate that she was responding to reports of students leaving campus in response to the protests.

Barnard Hall via Bwog Archives