Table Of Content
We suspended two student groups, Students for Justice in Palestine and Jewish Voice for Peace, following a series of rules violations and their leaders’ failure to respond to our repeated entreaties to comply. President Shafik, the Board, and other University leaders felt these steps were essential to ensure the safety of our students on campus. Columbia’s disciplinary processes and support services were not prepared for the volume and nature of the violations that we saw after October 7. Traditionally, our campuses have been open for public interaction and debate, including for students, faculty, and those not affiliated with Columbia.
Statement of Professor David Schizer
You can also find a compilation of federal education and labor laws, and links to legislative reports from the current Congress. DxD has already hosted four events focused on facilitating effective and respectful dialogues amongst those with differing opinions. These events were not merely wonderful learning experiences on a wide range of topics, they were also demonstrations of how those with differing opinions can have productive debates and discussions—even regarding high-stakes issues. Columbia maintains rules that prohibit antisemitic harassment, discrimination, and violence and will punish those who violate them. Since December, Columbia has undertaken a review of all event policies and the Rules of Conduct to make sure that they are appropriately formulated to prevent acts of hate against Jewish community members. The University Senate is also reviewing University rules, and the Board looks forward to reviewing their findings and recommendations in the coming months.
Role of the Board of Trustees of Columbia University
House Republicans have long accused elite colleges and universities of skewing left and pursuing a “woke” agenda that tramples on parental rights. GOP lawmakers are seeking to slash federal funding for universities and have hauled university officials to Capitol Hill to answer questions such as whether “calling for the genocide of Jews” would violate their schools’ code of conduct. Below, I address some of the specific steps the University has taken to combat antisemitism on our campuses and ensure the safety of the Columbia community. In that regard, enforcement of the rules is critical to hold violators accountable and, by sending a message to the broader Columbia community, deterring others who might otherwise violate the rules. First, the Task Force was asked to assess the events and other causes contributing to the pain in Columbia’s Jewish community. Finally, the Task Force was empowered to propose other methods to help the entire community understand the impact of antisemitism at Columbia.
Members, 118th Congress
Campus crackdowns are challenging free speech - Vox.com
Campus crackdowns are challenging free speech.
Posted: Fri, 26 Apr 2024 11:30:00 GMT [source]
We understand that viewpoints will inevitably conflict, and therefore, to fulfill Columbia’s mission, we must uphold both freedom of speech and mutual respect. We will not allow freedom of expression to be used to countenance intimidation or discrimination. It is essential that debates and disagreements at Columbia are rooted in academic rigor and civil discourse. No political debate can justify antisemitism or any form of bigotry; protests and debates should not make Jewish students or any other member of our community feel unsafe.
a. Updated Event Policies
We will continue investing in scholarship and academic programming that elevates campus debates on difficult issues. And we will focus on educating our community about the dangers and realities of antisemitism. The Trustees formed our own task force with a view to developing ideas for addressing antisemitism.
His son became a lawyer, and so did his grandson, who is here before you today. Columbia is committed to “ensur[ing] that all members of our community may engage in our cherished traditions of free expression and open debate.” Freedom of speech is a core democratic principle and foundational to scholarship and research. It allows our differences to be a source of strength, a critical part of what makes university communities like Columbia excel as incubators of knowledge and innovation. We believe that Columbia’s role is not to shield individuals from positions that they find unwelcome, but instead to create an environment where different viewpoints can be tested and challenged.
WATCH: Chair Foxx at Columbia University
April 22, 2024 - Protests at Columbia and other schools escalate - CNN
April 22, 2024 - Protests at Columbia and other schools escalate.
Posted: Tue, 23 Apr 2024 00:50:00 GMT [source]
The Board of Trustees and the University, including the four members of this panel, have taken many steps to make our community feel safe, but fully recognize that we must remain vigilant. Across the ages, Jews have experienced oppression, expulsion, state-run genocide and terrorist attacks like that which took place on October 7. While I am not an expert on the subject, I can speak to it from my own experience. For example, it is not appropriate to make assumptions about the views of American Jews on Israel or to attribute Israel’s policies to them.
I mention these facts regarding my background to make clear that I come to these issues with personal experience. I have been profoundly saddened by October 7, as well as by many of the responses to the terrorist attack by members of the Columbia community. We had a professor glorify the barbaric terrorist attacks by Hamas on Israeli civilians, women, children, and babies. A group of faculty penned a letter saying the horrific terrorist attacks were legitimate military actions.
Board of Trustees of Columbia University
We have made sure that a diversity of perspectives is heard and considered in the University’s approach. The Trustees have met with students or attended campus events, including at Hillel. For example, when members of a group say that particular phrases or comments interfere with their ability to learn and work, should the University defer to them? In recent years, this sort of deference has been commonplace, for instance, when women, Black and transgender students have registered concerns in discussions of sexual assault, policing, and transgender rights.
The university last year suspended two groups, Students for Justice in Palestine and Jewish Voice for Peace, over their protest activities. In one particularly aggressive line of questioning, Elise Stefanik, a Republican representative from New York, pushed Shafik to commit to removing Massad as chair of an academic review committee. Thank you again for the opportunity to discuss a topic of critical importance to me, to Columbia University and, more broadly, to our Nation.
I’m pleased that the university has worked to implement these (and other) ideas to make enforcement more effective. In the wake of Hamas’s barbaric atrocities on October 7th, there has been a chilling surge of antisemitic incidents across the globe and, unfortunately, on the Columbia campus as well. As part of the university’s response, President Shafik asked me to serve as one of three co-chairs of a new Task Force on Antisemitism. I’m here today to share some of the Task Force’s initial findings and recommendations.
Columbia took action to ensure that community members could more easily file reports of antisemitism and other hate incidents, receive responses to their complaints, and have their complaints investigated. To better facilitate filing reports and accessing support, Columbia launched the Enhanced Reporting Initiative and telephone hotline. Columbia has also created a Doxing Resource Group to assist students who have been subjected to doxing attacks.
The Trustee task force has also focused on the University’s Title VI rules prohibiting harassment and discrimination and policies and on enforcement of those rules and policies. We have received reports on these topics from senior leadership of the University. Next steps for the Trustee task force include identifying medium and long-term actions that the University can take to address antisemitism. We believe that the steps we are identifying will be useful to combat not only antisemitism, but also other forms of hate. In addition, we increased the presence of public safety personnel across all of our campuses, hired outside security firms for additional support, and ensured that the New York City Police Department was present or on standby for major events.
Helps protect indoor and outdoor workers against occupational exposure to excessive heat by requiring employers to provide paid breaks in cool spaces, access to water, limitations on time exposed to heat, and other life-saving measures. Helps address and prevent child hunger by delivering a comprehensive, science-driven reauthorization of federal child nutrition programs that meets the needs of children and families. Restores the right of students and parents to hold schools accountable for discrimination in education.
In the electronic hearing archive you’ll find a detailed record of each official hearing held by the Education and the Workforce Committee and its subcommittees. This includes the Chairman's opening statement; written testimony from the witnesses; press releases and other related material; items submitted for the hearing record; and a video link to the archived webcast. Once the Government Printing Office releases its official printed hearing record, you’ll find that here too. Fostering the best opportunities for students to learn, workers to succeed, and job creators to thrive. Basil Rodriguez, 23, argued Wednesday that Johnson and any lawmaker who backed sending aid to Israel is responsible for the deaths of thousands of Palestinians. “Most of the people protesting do so from a place of genuine political disagreement, not from personal hatred or bias or support for terrorism,” she wrote.
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