Columbia President Condemns Hamilton Hall Occupation as a ‘Violent Act’ Crossing a New Line
Columbia University President Minouche Shafik expressed concern over protesters’ occupation of Hamilton Hall, labeling it a ‘violent act.’ Following the NYPD’s intervention and arrests, she referred to the incident as a challenging time for the university. The involvement of riot police drew criticism from the school’s faculty association. ### President Minouche Shafik at Columbia University:
President Minouche Shafik assumed the role of Columbia University’s 20th president on July 1, 2023. As a distinguished economist with expertise in public policy and academia, her leadership has faced intense scrutiny amid campus protests. The involvement of the NYPD in clearing protests has prompted calls for her resignation and a vote of no confidence by the faculty association.
### Protests and Response:
The protests at Columbia University have placed President Minouche Shafik under significant pressure, with demands for her resignation following the handling of the demonstrators’ occupation of Hamilton Hall. The criticism has escalated, leading to calls for a vote of no confidence from the faculty association due to the partnership with the NYPD during the intervention.
### NYPD Intervention and Challenges:
The intervention of the New York Police Department in dealing with the campus protests has sparked controversy at Columbia University. President Minouche Shafik’s decision to involve law enforcement has created a divisive atmosphere, resulting in faculty members questioning her leadership and openly expressing a lack of confidence in her handling of the situation.
Columbia University President Minouche Shafik admitted on Friday that protesters who illegally occupied Hamilton Hall “crossed a new line.”
Days after New York Police Department officers cleared the hall, Shafik addressed the chaos that has unfolded on her campus in a video on Friday.
She described the past two weeks as being “among the most difficult in Columbia’s history.” But, when Hamilton Hall was broken into, Shafik stated that “protesters crossed a new line”
“It was a violent act that put our students at risk, as well as putting the protesters at risk,” Shafik said. “I walked through the building and saw the damage, which was distressing.”
The night of the raid, officers arrested 100 anti-Israel protesters both inside the hall and around campus. The university’s decision to call riot police into Hamilton Hall has garnered scrutiny as the school’s chapter of the American Association of University Professors called it a “horrific police attack” on students. But according to Mayor Eric Adams, 40% of the protesters arrested at Columbia and City College that night “were not from the school, and they were outsiders.” So far, 280 protesters have been arrested on Columbia’s campus.
Shafik notes that for eight days and nights, university leaders had engaged in talks with the protesters and had made a “good and sincere offer, but it was not accepted.”
Shafik’s video comes a day after a school faculty association called for a vote of no confidence for Shafik.
“From the beginning of the current crisis, the Shafik administration has consistently failed to respect student and faculty rights to free speech, academic freedom, and shared governance,” the Columbia University Chapter of the American Association of University Professors wrote in a statement.
However, Shafik remains optimistic that through collaboration, they can “rebuild community” at Columbia.
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“The issues that are challenging us — the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, antisemitism, and anti-Arab and anti-Muslim bias — have existed for a long time,” Shafik said. “And Columbia, despite being a remarkable institution, cannot solve them singlehandedly. What we can do is be an exemplar of a better world, where people who disagree do so civilly, recognize each other’s humanity, and show empathy and compassion for one another.”
Protests either calling for a ceasefire in Gaza or calling on universities to divest in Israel have spread across over 30 campuses nationwide.
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