Columbia University has settled a federal lawsuit brought by a Jewish student alleging the Ivy League school couldn’t provide a safe educational environment amid the pro-Palestinian protests on campus.
Columbia also agreed to consider academic accommodations for students who missed key assignment deadlines or exams because of protest-related campus closures. There will also be accommodations for students needing access to their belongings when they are restricted from campus due to disciplinary actions.
The Columbia settlement is one of the first legal resolutions for Jewish college students feeling unsafe and seeking court-ordered relief from what they describe as a rise in anti-Semitism on their campuses since last October, when Hamas-led terrorist attacks on Israel reignited the Middle East war.
“We are pleased we’ve been able to come to a resolution and remain committed to our number one priority: the safety of our campus so that all of our students can successfully pursue their education and meet their academic goals,” a spokesperson for Columbia said in an emailed statement.
The class action lawsuit was filed in April by a student identifying only as C.S.. The Jewish student sued on behalf of all Columbia students who felt they were at a greater risk of harassment and physical violence, accusing the university of failing to guarantee the safety for everyone as pro-Palestinian protests raged on.
The lawsuit specifically took issue with the handling of the so-called “Gaza Solidarity Encampment,” a roughly 60-tent formation that was erected on the university’s main lawn in protest of Israel’s military response in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip.
Since April, Columbia officials have tried to persuade the protestors to pack up their tents, but the encampment persisted and grew until New York police intervened and arrested hundreds.
“Since its formation, the encampment has been the center of round-the-clock harassment of Jewish students,” it stated, alleging Jewish students were punched, shoved, spat on, blocked from attending classes and freely moving on campus, and on the receiving end of written and verbal “pro-terrorist hate speech” such as, “Death to the Jews,” and “Long live Hamas.”
The lawsuit accused Columbia of having done little to curb such behavior or meaningfully discipline the offenders. “The administration’s inaction and willingness to capitulate to the demands of this extremist element of demonstrators have fanned the flames of anti-Semitism across campus,” it added.
The other nine institutions subject to the probe are Barnard College, Cornell University, Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Northwestern University, Rutgers University, the University of California at Berkeley, the University of Pennsylvania, and the University of California at Los Angeles. The committees haven’t said whether more institutions will be added to the list, nor offered more details about why these particular institutions were singled out.
For those found to violate federal civil rights laws by not providing Jewish students with adequate protections, the ultimate penalty would be losing access to federal money for financial aid and research, the Republican members of Congress warned.
“The House of Representatives will not countenance the use of federal funds to indoctrinate students into hateful, anti-Semitic, anti-American supporters of terrorism,” six committee chairs wrote June 3 to leaders of 10 colleges subject to the probe.
