Police and private security throng every entrance but one. Steel barriers line the streets. Students pack up belongings in their cars and leave for home - classes are cancelled, and exam plans are up in the air.
Everywhere there is gloom, and uncertainty about what happens next at Columbia University.
Students told the BBC that the university’s decision to call in police to clear a Gaza protest late on Tuesday, leading to a raid on the occupied Hamilton Hall and hundreds of arrests, has left the college community shattered.
The university president, Nemat Shafik, said that it was with great regret that she ordered the police raid against students and others she said had infiltrated the protest. It would “take time to heal”, she added in a message in the operation’s aftermath.
For students of this prestigious school in Manhattan, New York, how long is unclear.
Only authoritarian governments crush student protests
Name a government that doesnt do their damndest to crush student protests.
That isn’t the contradiction you imply…
I struggle to think of a more authoritarian structure than the hierarchic state.
Stateless areas, such as Rojava and the Zapatistas are a good example of a “government” that doesn’t crush student protests, but they really don’t have them in the first place, since their bottom up structure makes it such that the students can directly use political power to prevent shit like supporting genocidal ethnic states.
There are no universities there for students to protest in :(
:(
There are plenty in Europe.
How to radicalize a lot of smart people in a very short period of time
It would “take time to heal”, she added
That’s some big “I’m sorry you made me do this to you” abuser energy there
It is with great regret that she [did something nobody was forcing her to do].
I can make some educated guesses on who forced her to do it.
Edit: upon learning more about her, no, it seems like she’s just like that
Most of what she said are pretty typical non-exuses in British politics and upper class circles, which is were she made her whole career up to this.
The President needs to resign.
I had never heard of her before. Wow:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minouche_Shafik
Nemat Talaat Shafik, Baroness Shafik, (Arabic: نعمت طلعت شفيق) DBE, HonFBA (born 13 August 1962), commonly known as Minouche Shafik (Arabic: مينوش شفيق), is a British-American academic and economist.[2] She has been serving as the 20th president of Columbia University since July 2023. She previously served as president and vice chancellor of the London School of Economics from 2017 to 2023.
From 2014 to 2017, Shafik served as deputy governor of the Bank of England and also previously as permanent secretary of the United Kingdom Department for International Development from 2008 to 2011.[3] She has also served as a vice president at the World Bank[4] and as deputy managing director of the International Monetary Fund.[5] She was created a life peeress by Elizabeth II in 2020.
She’s taking a “World Bank” approach to this situation, that’s for sure. This quote by her is hilarious:
“The point of university is to be intellectually challenged and confronted with difference.” She argued that universities needed to ‘teach people to have difficult conversations’, adding: “It’s through that process of listening that you learn, you build consensus, and you move forward as a community."
Quotes by yourself that by yourself you will live down.
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GiGaLuL
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Imagine if the Columbia administration decided they could swim in regular water instead of a moneybin like Scrooge McDuck and divested the university from Israel. Maybe all of this could have been avoided.
Aren’t there laws that prevent Universities from doing so?
Are there? I’ve not heard of such a thing.
Yes, anti-BDS laws. These were passed years ago (not reactionary to now). There are state and federal rules but in general, a university can’t boycott or divest from Israeli (or many other nations) in political protest or it loses funding.
I think this is why we see most universities have their hands tied.
A private university? I would like to see that law.
I still believe the university benefits from government funding since NSF, NIST, DoD etc are all agencies funding university research. I don’t think it’s possible to un-fund yourself completely from the government given that it spurs research everywhere.
But you can make an effort. Which they are not doing.
I can understand that people hold their college as some part of their soul and want their universities actions to reflect their political beliefs. But, I don’t think universities (as an entity) should be involved politically or have political opinions.
Anti-BDS laws exist (you can look them up on Wikipedia). Are they constitutional? Certainly not. Is our legal system going to fight them? Doubt it.
Other than “wrong thought” what was it that the protesters were doing that required such a heavy handed response?
By contrast, in a country with actual freedom Student protesters at McGill encampment determined to stay after judge rejects injunction
and others she say had infiltrated the protest
What’s this about?
Then don’t give them your money or time and transfer to another school?
Try not giving boomer ass platitudes that you have clearly put about 20 seconds of thought into.
Do you tell struggling minorities in southern states to ‘just move to a blue state’? I’m sure no one has forgotten this is an option, and I expect that future enrollment to the school is going to be way less, but this is an immediate problem and transferring is a semester-scale solution. Some of the students may be ready to graduate as well.
Actually, a national student strike would be incredibly effective. Just like it was after Kent State.
You cannot fund weapons development on donations alone.
I totally agree! That will probably take some time to get up to speed but I would support that in any way I could
Harvard makes more money from it’s investments than from tuition. I can’t even imagine what their land holdings are netting them.
nothing can screw up a kids future quite like college
I was with them (because one SHOULD be able to exercise their constitutional rights) until they started breaking shit.
We have a right to peacefully assemble, not act like idiots.
Now, I still wish this was handled differently. They really should have tried to just go after the idiots and not everyone.
No one listens to peaceful protesters
Like it or not that’s the only right you’re entitled to.
Like it or not if people get mad enough they’re gonna stop being peaceful and fight for the change they want
Those “peaceful protestors” were smashing windows and camping in tents on the lawn of the Universities. And that’s not even the worst part, where they are actively supporting Hamas. Sounds like they’re just angry about facing consequences, to me.
Joined 2 days ago. Yep.
get fucking bent you propagandist piece of shit
Camping sounds pretty peaceful.
Actively supporting Hamas? Explain.
Found the nazi
Found the person who can’t make an independent coherent argument for their case, so they resort to overused name-calling.
Says the guy with a norse name two day old account. Whatever you Nazi.
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Found the person who can’t make an independent coherent argument for their case, so they resort to overused name-calling.
I don’t debate Nazi’s, you can fuck off and that’s all you get.
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Ok nazi
The guy who lied about smashing windows is mad about name-calling lol… Name calling is the kindest thing you could ask for, national zionist
I mean they did literally break windows so they could get into Hamilton Hall
So the solution was cops who broke a ton of windows and doors then beat a bunch of college students all with your tax money?
Is that what I said? If I reiterate my exact words would that be enough for you or are you gonna read into that too?
You were implying it and are now acting dumb and innocent.
OH LOOK A
ONETWO DAY OLD ACCOUNTThat has a dog whistle norse name.
You’ve just admitted that you’re a racist. Nice.
Why does that matter, exactly? New accounts aren’t allowed to have an opinion? Or state facts?
You claim “facts” yet have no evidence. Provide evidence.
Could you respond to the people asking for facts instead of responding to these comments, then? Someone was asking in what ways the protesters are pro-Hamas, you could start there.
Israel has left Palestine alone since 2005. They allowed Palestine to use their power and water, because Hamas (who Palestinians overwhelmingly support AND voted in) refused to build those resources in Gaza. Instead they chose to build tunnels for terror. Palestinians cheered when Israeli’s were murdered, and the protesters literally changed “from the Mountains to the sea” which leaves no room for the legal state of Israel.
If you’re pro Palestine you are pro Hamas. They happily started a fight, and they play victim when they lose, rounding up the simple minded as supporters.
Oh, the position is that because some Palestinians cheered, it is okay genocide all of them and starve their children.
If you’re pro Palestine you are pro Hamas.
There it is. Fuck you to hell.
Oh no they camped in tents outside! How awful!
Also no they specifically said they were against genocide and calling for a ceasefire. Hamad didn’t come into it til a bunch of genocidal psychotic Zionists started saying it was anti semitism because apparently everything anyone does is anti Semitic now
Sick genocide apologia bro
More broken windows. More. More.
