Students weigh in: An update on what's unfolding at Columbia and Barnard
Students weigh in: An update on what's unfolding at Columbia and Barnard
Pro-Palestinian demonstrations have reached a boiling point on campus. Today, classes are being held virtually. I checked in with a few students to learn more.
If your social media or newsfeed looks anything like mine, this weekend it was chock-full with scenes from Columbia University and Barnard College. On campus there, pro-Palestinian demonstrations have reached an inflection point after Columbia President Nemat “Minouche” Shafik testified before Congress last week about antisemitism on campus. Just one day after her testimony, more than 100 Columbia and Barnard students were arrested for refusing to leave an on-campus encampment, called the ‘Gaza Solidarity Encampment,’ in protest of Israel’s war in Gaza.
The student-led coalition behind the encampment is ‘Columbia University Apartheid Divest’ (CUAD), which writes on its website that it is, “a coalition of student organizations working toward achieving a liberated Palestine and the end of Israeli apartheid by urging Columbia to divest all economic and academic stakes in Israel.” The group says: “We seek an end to all interlocking systems of oppression through collective action and solidarity with oppressed people worldwide.” CUAD also lists five clearly labeled demands for the university: “financial divestment” from Israel, an “academic boycott” of Israeli institutions, “stop the displacement,” (which they say includes both in Palestine as well as Harlem), “no policing on campus,” and “end the silence” by calling for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza.
Over the weekend, organizers in support of Gaza continued to campout, calling for their demands to be met. Meanwhile, Jewish students in support of Israel have reported incidents of antisemitic rhetoric, and the orthodox rabbi at Columbia/Barnard sent a WhatsApp message to members of the Jewish community suggesting they “return home as soon as possible and remain home until the reality in and around campus has dramatically improved.” White House spokesperson Andrew Bates weighed in Sunday, saying in a statement: “While every American has the right to peaceful protect, calls for violence and physical intimidation targeting Jewish students and the Jewish community are blatantly antisemitic, unconscionable, and dangerous – they have absolutely no place on any college campus, or anywhere in the United States of America.”
Columbia’s student newspaper, The Columbia Spectator, is covering the dynamics unfolding in real time. Its homepage today includes news headlines such as “‘We need a reset’: Shafik breaks silence, announces same-day shift to virtual classes,” “Leaders at Columbia/Barnard Hillel and Chabad issue statements after rise in antisemitic incidents,” and “‘I came here for the people, not for the school’: Admitted students express support for ‘Gaza Solidarity Encampment,’” as well as opinion pieces from untenured faculty and the paper’s editorial board.
“The administration has failed to genuinely engage with its students, faculty, and staff as we—the Columbia community—are forced to watch our beloved University slowly unravel into a space of distrust, suppression, and fear,” the Spectator’s editorial board wrote on April 18. “Only one day after her hearing, Shafik has proven to her students yet again the administration’s commitment to silencing and marginalizing its own student body,” they wrote.
It’s not just Columbia where student protestors are facing ramifications for their demonstrations. According to the Yale Daily News, 47 pro-divestment protestors were arrested there today, too. And I’m told that at Harvard today, students are being asked to show their ID before entering Harvard Yard, which according to the Harvard Crimson, has been, "closed until Friday in anticipation of pro-Palestine protests.”
To learn more about how students are feeling at Columbia/Barnard in particular and where they see the conversation going from here, I checked in with a few. This is by no means conclusive, and I hope to hear from more students. I plan to continue publishing updates as this continues to shake out.
So far, each of the students I spoke with comes from a different facet of the Columbia/Barnard community and has a unique perspective — they shared their thoughts but asked for anonymity in doing so.
Here’s some of what they had to say:
Columbia student:
In contextualizing the chaos on campus, this student said they’re “pessimistic” in a way they haven’t been before. They pointed to the fact that the CUAD organizers have said they will not end their demonstration until the university divests from Israel, which the university has said it’s not going to do. This student pointed to Columbia’s Advisory Committee on Socially Responsible Investing (which, it says, works to reflect campus consensus). CUAD submitted a proposal to that committee in December asking the university “to withdraw financial support from Israel,” but that proposal was denied in February on the basis that, “there is not broad consensus within the University community regarding the issue at hand.”
This student described what they called “fault lines” all wrapped up into “one moment” that make the entire situation incredibly complex.
“There are the administration vs. student fault lines that come up. There are fault lines around safe spaces on college campuses (which is a decade plus debate). There is a fault line around use of police and that certainly has been a fault line in recent memory. There is the broader fault line around Israel Gaza,” they said. “Social media is also a challenge.”
They explained that there are also different ways of advocating for peace in Gaza — and that some may be more productive or well received than others.
“Saying the humanitarian crisis in Gaza is abhorrent, that is received very differently than saying Israel is an apartheid state and we need to divest from it,” they said. “The group of students organizing is smaller than the group fed up and angry about what’s going on in Gaza.”
Jewish graduate student:
This student explained that last week, “tensions escalated to a new level,” and those in support of Palestine painted on the walls of a studio they work in on campus.
“Walls were spray painted with ‘Free Palestine’ and on studio feedback posters, phrases such as ‘FREE PALESTINE OF ZIONIST OCCUPATION AND GENOCIDE’ were drawn,” they said.
Asked how the rhetoric makes them feel, as a Jewish student, they said:
“My classmates are posting this kinda stuff all over their social media pages and refusing to have a productive conversation with a ‘Zionist’ like myself. When I try to engage in conversation all they say is that anti-Zionism is not antisemitism as if someone drilled that line into their head.”
Asked about attempts at productive dialogue they said:
“Very few productive conversations have been had and the school is not creating a single place for them. The only conversations that happen are in the WhatsApp group, and I would say it’s certainly engaging but not productive.”
Like other students, they explained they feel there is a social stigma associated with supporting the Jewish community.
“People are scared to support Jewish people right now for fear of being cancelled but when we speak up about how our experiences are on campus and how we feel about the letters being passed around, we quietly receive many private messages,” they said, adding, “private messages are as far as people will go to show support. When it comes down to it, they publicly sign action letters and petitions condemning the ‘apartheid state of Israel.’”
A pro-Palestinian student organizer, who has spent three nights at the west lawn encampment:
“I decided to start showing up to the second wave of encampment on the western lawns [over the weekend],” this student demonstrator told me. “I’ve spent three nights there so far. The first night was the hardest night because it was raining and we weren’t allowed to have tents up at the time,” they said.
“This is one of the first major demonstrations that Columbia University Apartheid Divest has organized this semester specifically,” this student said, explaining that demonstrations which were more common last semester had petered off after winter break.
“We’re making it clear that students at Columbia are asking for the administration to divest. That is the biggest ask that we’re pushing right now.”
Asked if there have been any attempts at productive dialogue either between student demonstrators and the school’s administration or student peers, they said: “Barnard and Columbia have made attempts at facilitating dialogue through honestly weird events that most students just end up boycotting because they don’t seem to make sense.”
“Students aren’t very receptive to the college or university-led initiatives because they’ve been really upset with messaging that the university and college have put out. The primary complaint has been that it’s been extremely pro-Israel,” they said.
Asked about threats to students on campus, this organizer said they believe any anti-semitic rhetoric is coming from off-campus actors and that there is a difference between anti-zionism and anti-semitism.
“Especially when it comes to Jewish students and their own perceived threats, I think there is a significant difference between perceived threats or actual danger. Anti-zionist people have made it clear their issue isn’t with Jewish students but zionist ideologies that are enabling the violence against Palestinians in Gaza, and they’re also against the administration’s biased response to handling the demonstrations,” they said.
Asked how they feel at this point in time, this student organizer said: “I feel disappointed, energized, and stressed.”
“The disappointment and disbelief and shock is at how the administration has been handling the peaceful student protests on campus. I feel really energized being at the encampment, people take care of each other there, we keep each other safe… There’s such an amazing vibe in there and it gives me so much hope and strength for just voicing our demands,” they said.
Asked their thoughts on classes being cancelled, they said they think it was not necessary, and once again reiterated that there is a difference between a perceived threat and any actual violence:
“To see how the administration, Congress, and President Biden respond to student protests is alarming because they’re simply characterized as being anti-semitic and nothing else. Cancelling of classes due to the disruptiveness or alleged harmful rhetoric, which I think is completely untrue, is another example of how the mischracterizatron of pro-Palestinian protestors being violent is being portrayed in the media.”
Other links to read
Live Updates: Tensions Rise Over Pro-Palestinian Protests at U.S. Colleges, The New York Times
Jewish Students Are Targeted as Protests Continue at Columbia, Luis Ferré-Sadurní, Colbi Edmonds and Liset Cruz for The New York Times
Tensions are so high at Columbia ahead of Passover that all classes will be virtual today, Matt Egan and Chris Boyette for CNN
Isra Hirsi, Ilhan Omar's Daughter, On Columbia Arrests, Barnard Suspension, Palestine Protests, Lex McMenamin for Teen Vogue