Three Columbia Deans Resign After Their ‘Deeply Upsetting’ Text Messages Leak
Three administrators at Columbia University have resigned following an incident in which they made disparaging remarks about Jewish students during a May panel discussion titled “Jewish Life on Campus: Past, Present and Future.” The resignations come after Susan Chang-Kim, Cristen Kromm, and Matthew Patashnick, who were placed on indefinite leave last month, faced criticism for their comments, including disdain for Jewish students expressing their concerns. Columbia President Minouche Shafik condemned their texts as “unacceptable and deeply upsetting,” noting they reflected “ancient anti-Semitic tropes.” The resignation of these administrators has raised concerns about campus safety, with a recent incident of vandalism at the home of a university official highlighting tensions at Columbia. Discussions of enhanced security measures are ongoing, as current campus security cannot physically confront individuals, leaving intervention to the NYPD with faculty approval. The situation underscores a broader atmosphere of conflict and challenges within the university regarding the treatment of Jewish students and security on campus.
Three Columbia University administrators have resigned after being put on indefinite leave weeks ago for making disparaging comments about Jewish students at the elite college.
Susan Chang-Kim, the former vice dean and chief administrative officer; Cristen Kromm, former dean of undergraduate student life; and Matthew Patashnick, former associate dean for student and family support, had been put on indefinite leave for their comments to one another during a May panel discussion entitled “Jewish Life on Campus: Past, Present and Future,” according to The New York Times.
The three could be disciplined because they were not tenured faculty.
Josef Sorett, the dean of Columbia College, is a tenured professor, making action against him difficult.
“I had already understood that they didn’t take our concerns seriously, but the overt disdain was really upsetting,” said Elisha Baker, a junior and leader of Aryeh, a pro-Israel group on campus. “It totally delegitimized the strategy of listening sessions. Not only did they not hear us, they saw our speaking as some sort of privilege.”
The texts were first revealed by the Washington Free Beacon.
“I’m going to throw up,” Chang-Kim wrote about an hour into the listening session.
“Amazing what $$$$ can do,” Kromm chimed in.
“They will have their own dorm soon,” Patashnick said after students said they felt less safe in their dorms than in a pro-Jewish center on campus.
“Comes from such a place of privilege,” Chang-Kim wrote in reply.
Columbia President Minouche Shafik, called the texts “unacceptable and deeply upsetting” and said they used “ancient anti-Semitic tropes,” when she benched the deans in July, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Even as word emerged of the resignations, a new incident struck the New York City college, according to the Times.
The Brooklyn Heights apartment building of Cas Holloway, Columbia’s chief operating officer, was vandalized early Thursday. Red paint was splashed on floor. Bugs were released into the lobby. Symbols of Palestinian resistance were drawn by a smashed glass door.
A report in the Wall Street Journal said that Columbia is tiptoeing towards new security measures.
Currently, campus security can neither touch nor detain a student, with the only option for serious circumstances being the police, who can only be called if faculty leaders approve.
“Columbia has public safety, but basically they can’t physically confront anybody,” said James Applegate, an astronomy professor and member of the executive committee of the University Senate, the Times reported.
“So Columbia’s options are, for all intents and purposes, ask politely or go nuclear,” he said, referring to calling in the NYPD.
The Journal report said, administrators are fretting that faculty might go on strike if tougher security measures are imposed.
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