In December, a petition was circulated condemning harassment experienced by Student Senator Helen Han Wei Luo. It called for the removal of Professor Shai Davidai and a public statement, among other demands. 

Content warning: Sinophobia (anti-Chinese sentiment), antisemitism, brief mention of sexual harassment

On December 11, a petition was released criticizing incidents of harassment perpetrated by Columbia Business School Professor Shai Davidai. Signed by over 530 individuals and organizations as of January 27, the petition specifically references “intense and targeted harassment” against Graduate Humanities Student Senator Helen Han Wei Luo. Notable signatories include Columbia’s Asian American Alliance (AAA), Columbia Palestine Solidarity Coalition (CPSC), and Student Workers of Columbia – UAW (Graduate Student Union), among additional multicultural student organizations. 

Incident of Harassment

On November 22, Luo spoke at a Senate plenary meeting during a conversation about the House Committee on Education and the Workforce report on antisemitism on college campuses. The meeting minutes state that Luo described the violent characterization of student activities as “unwarranted and unfair,” and a characterization that had not taken into account “the involvement of outside interest groups” such as Congress. According to the minutes, Luo remarked that “speaking about antisemitism as a particular ill on campus is not the right approach.” Instead, she claimed that the University should protect the entire student body. The minutes state, “Sen. Luo recognized the seriousness of these grievances but argued that focusing only on them left out many other legitimate concerns, including those of anti-Zionist Jewish students” who do not feel recognized. 

Shortly after the plenary meeting, Columbia junior Elisha “Lishi” Baker posted a video of Luo’s remarks to X, garnering over 160,000 views. Baker attended the meeting as a viewer and is not involved in the University Senate. In the video, Luo can be seen speaking according to the description given by the meeting minutes, while also mentioning that the suspension of Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) “has left a really deep scar on campus culture.” Shai Davidai retweeted the post, writing, “YOU DON’T GET TO TELL JEWS WHETHER, WHEN, OR HOW WE SPEAK ABOUT ANTISEMITISM.” 

Professor and self-defined Jewish civil rights activist Shai Davidai has long sparked contention on campus. Davidai has become a public figure in the wake of viral media appearances over the past year, having amassed over 120,000 followers on Instagram and started a podcast. As of April 2024, he had over 50 complaints of harassment leveraged against him. 

While the current status of Davidai’s disciplinary status is not known, he was temporarily banned from campus on October 15 due to having “repeatedly harassed and intimidated University employees in violation of University policy,” according to a University spokesperson. At this time Davidai is still banned from campus, although it is unclear to what extent he has been permitted to continue his teaching and research activities. 

Luo’s comments were subsequently distributed on Instagram by popular accounts Jew Hate Database, Documenting Jew Hatred on Campus, Jews in School, and Safe Campus. Jew Hate Database’s post described Luo as “arguing against the right to consider discussing ‘antisemitism’ on Columbia [sic] campus.” Stating that Luo is not Jewish, the post wrote, “She has no expertise in ‘antisemitism’ (only in Jew hatred)… So why is she voicing opinions that clash with the overwhelming consensus of the Jewish community?” The post claimed that Luo’s words “could” have been “shaped by Maryam Iqbal,” a prominent organizer for Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD) who was suspended after her participation in last spring’s Encampment. It is unclear whether Iqbal and Luo know one another; Iqbal was not mentioned in any of Luo’s statements. The Jew Hate Database post was formerly co-posted by Davidai, who has since been removed as a co-poster. 

Another post discussed “the strong support of the Jewish community during the pandemic, when Asian hatred reared its ugly head.” It referenced Luo’s hometown of Wuhan, China, asking, “How would you have felt, Helen, if someone said back then that Sinophobia should not be acknowledged?” 

The petition in support of Luo stated that her words were “deliberately mischaracterized” and that they were spoken in the “narrow context” of a discussion about congressional characterizations of community members. Luo wrote about her remarks at the plenary meeting, “My statement seeks to recognize the seriousness of antisemitism on campus, but calls to reject the wholesale description of student protestors as active affiliates of terrorist organizations.” 

The petition highlights the racist rhetoric surrounding the social media posts redistributing Luo’s statement. Columbia Asian American Alliance (AAA), Columbia AAPI Interboard, Columbia Palestine Solidarity Coalition (CPSC), and other student groups posted examples of these derogatory remarks on Instagram. In various comments and retweets, Luo had been called a derogatory term for Chinese people, “really subhuman,” “a CCP agent,” “disturbed,” “ugly,” “slant eye yellow bitch,” as well as other Sinophobic language. Instagram comments stated, “Deportations can’t come soon enough,” “Go live amongst your wet market where u belong,” and “Wuhan exported COVID and a vile antisemite.” Further investigation by Bwog reveals Twitter comments stating “She has many more deep scars coming” and describing Luo as a “moronic bitch,” “mentally ill and demented,” “psychotic”, “minger,” “despicable worthless terrorist sympathizer,” and “Asian bitch,” among others. A since-suspended account referred to Luo as “human excrement.” Many comments drew parallels to the conservative slogan All Lives Matter, a common rejection of the Black Lives Matter movement. 

The University has allegedly “taken no measures thus far to stop this harassment or discipline the perpetrators,” according to the petition. Bwog reached out to the University regarding this allegation. A spokesperson told Bwog, “We are committed to supporting all members of our community as they study, teach, and work on our campus. Our objective is to build and sustain a community where everyone can thrive and feel that they belong. Harassment, including online targeting, and discrimination are not acceptable at Columbia. Reports of harassment and discrimination will be investigated through our offices and processes.”

Luo told Bwog she recently filed for an Office of Institutional Equity (OIE) No Contract Directive against Shai Davidai. This directive was rejected as, although Davidai has made posts about Luo, he “has not attempted to contact [her] via social media or other means.” The OIE dismissed complaints made by Luo against both Davidai and Baker, which Luo told Bwog she found “unjust to the point of cruelty.” 

In documents reviewed by Bwog, the OIE cited reasoning for rejecting Luo’s complaint against Baker as, “alleged speech or conduct [that] did not meet the definition of Discrimination or Discriminatory Harassment based on a Protected Class.” They rejected Luo’s complaint against Davidai due to a lack of evidence that he was “working in concert” with non-affiliated individuals who harassed her. The OIE found that Davidai’s co-posting of the Jew Hate Database post, which contained an image of Luo in a bathing suit, did not amount to sexual harassment as Luo claimed, citing that the image was not sexual in nature. 

Further Proceedings

The petition ended with a call for the administration to publicly condemn the “discriminatory attack against student leaders” and affirm its commitment to Asian student safety on campus. It urged that Professor Shai Davidai be removed from his teaching position “based on his targeting of young women of color and his invasive behavior on social media.” Thirdly, it asked that the administration subject Elisha Baker to a disciplinary hearing for recording the Senate meeting “with the intent to harass and intimidate.” 

Bwog investigated the petition’s statement that Baker’s recording of the plenary meeting violated Senate by-laws. The openly accessible by-laws document states that records of Senate plenary meetings are public, while “discussions and records of Senate committees are confidential.” The University Senate Rules for Electronic Meetings states that CUID holders are permitted to attend meetings “if they follow the procedures provided before the meeting to insure [sic] the integrity of the meeting.” The rules allow for the Chair to evict viewers if they cause a disturbance. No information is provided regarding the filming and mass distribution of University Senate proceedings, although University policy states that attendees at student events can only record with permission from the organizer. Senator Luo told Bwog that current Chair Jeanine D’Armiento has prohibited recordings at every plenary meeting she has attended. Bwog reached out to Chair D’Armiento for comment but did not receive a response. 

Bwog reached out to Elisha Baker for comment, who stated that since Senate by-laws are made public, “It is not a violation of Senate Bylaws, and certainly not doxxing, to record Senate plenary meetings.” He wrote, “While I find the comments [Luo] made at the November 22nd plenary extremely problematic, I would never dox a member of this community and I unequivocally condemn racist and anti-Asian attacks on Senator Han Wei Luo.” 

On December 8, the University Senate Student Affairs Committee released a statement denouncing the harassment and doxing of Luo. “We invite those who disagree with us or who seek clarification of a senator’s statements or comments to engage through the appropriate channels rather than resorting to actions that may generate hostility or harm,” they stated. 

In a December 12 Tweet, Shai Davidai wrote regarding Luo, “An antisemite like that has no place at the university senate [sic] and it’s shocking that their comments have yet to be condemned by the school.” He also stated that “no matter how antisemitic someone is, targeting them for their race or national origin is unacceptable.” 

On the same day, Jew Hate Database posted a statement on Twitter about the incident. They condemned hateful rhetoric based on ethnicity or national origin and also “strongly denounce[d]” Luo’s remarks, which they wrote “include[d] gaslighting or downplaying the issue.” They stated that Davidai and Baker should not be held accountable for harassing statements made by others. “We must also emphasize that we are not the internet police and bear no responsibility for what individuals choose to say or comment on public forums,” they wrote. 

On December 13, Luo gave a speech at a University Senate plenary meeting in response to these incidents. She stated that her remarks were misconstrued and denounced antisemitism, saying, “Antisemitism is an egregious form of discrimination at Columbia, especially when Jewish students and faculty are intimidated for speaking critically about the Israeli government.” She referenced the doxing trucks that circulated campus in the spring, maintaining that peers were “branded as terrorists for exercising the right to free speech and to protest.” Luo stated that the University has not taken action, despite having knowledge of the situation and having “the resources to punish students for behavior on social media.” She ended her speech by calling upon the administration to take action against perpetrators of harassment at the University. 

Going forward, Luo hopes to resolve her concerns by bringing a civil lawsuit against the University. Luo told Bwog, “It is my opinion… that restitution for the harms I have experienced as a result of Columbia’s bias and negligence can only be sought through legal action.” 

Low Library via Bwog Archive