On Monday, Columbia University’s unrest intensified as administrators rushed to allay concerns about security as simmering tensions on campus forced the suspension of in-person classes.
The Ivy League university has emerged as the focal point of turbulence on American college campuses; the disruption extended to Yale University and New York University, where on Monday, numerous pro-Palestinian demonstrators were taken into custody.
Because of serious security concerns, Columbia administrators decided to cancel all courses on Monday, coinciding with the start of Passover. The remarkable move was made by Columbia President Minouche Shafik in a statement issued just after 1 am ET, a clear indication of the mounting crisis. She cited a wish to “deescalate the rancor and give us all a chance to consider next steps.”
Gov. Kathy Hochul visited the school to address security concerns as the NYPD has increased its “large presence” near Columbia.
In a video that was uploaded on X, Hochul stated, “Students are scared.” “They’re scared to stroll around campus. That is not fair to them.
On Monday, the president also voiced his opinion.
When questioned about Columbia’s circumstances, President Joe Biden denounced antisemitism on campus.
Biden declared, “I denounce the antisemitic demonstrations.”
There is pressure on Shafik from every angle. While some academics are criticizing her for bringing in the NYPD to break up a pro-Palestinian demonstration last week, others are urging her to ask for the police to return in order to remove the protestors’ resurgent camp.
In a letter to Shafik on Monday, House GOP Conference Chairwoman Elise Stefanik and other New York Republicans criticized her for the state of affairs on campus and urged her to resign from her position as president of the esteemed university in less than a year.
The lawmakers wrote, “Anarchy has engulfed the Columbia University campus over the past few days.”
The New England Patriots’ owner and billionaire Robert Kraft, who graduated from Columbia, demanded that the protests end right away and hinted that he would stop giving to the university because he is “no longer confident that Columbia can protect its students and staff.”
According to Kraft, the founder of the Foundation to Combat Antisemitism, “the school I love so much—the one that welcomed me and provided me with so much opportunity—is no longer an institution I recognize.” Kraft made this statement on X, formerly known as Twitter. “I can’t support the university until they take corrective action.”
