As Columbia University administrators scramble to quell the unrest over the Israel-Hamas war and more recent concerns surrounding antisemitism that have broken out on campus in the past week, the school’s leadership has announced classes will be hybrid for the rest of the semester.
“Safety is our highest priority as we strive to support our students’ learning and all the required academic operations,” Columbia provost Angela V. Olinto and chief operating officer Cas Holloway said in a joint statement shared online on the night of April 22. “It’s vital that teaching and learning continue during this time.”
According to the statement, all classes on the school’s main campus in Morningside Heights, Manhattan, will be hybrid (classroom technology permitting) until the end of the spring 2024 semester. This means professors are expected to offer both in-person and remote attendance; if they can’t offer this hybrid format due to technology limitations but receive student requests for virtual learning options, then they are expected to hold classes fully remotely. The statement also urges professors whose classes can’t be virtual to “provide other accommodations liberally to students who have requested support for virtual learning,” although it’s not clear what those accommodations may be.
This decision comes after nearly a week of intense protests on Columbia’s campus, spurred by the setup of a “Gaza Solidarity Encampment” on the school’s East Butler lawn on April 17 — the same day Columbia president Nemat (Minouche) Shafik testified before Congress in a hearing about antisemitism at the university. According to a press release from Columbia University Apartheid Divest — a student-run coalition who organized the protest alongside Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine and Columbia-Barnard Jewish Voice for Peace — the demonstration’s purpose was to peacefully protest Columbia’s “continued financial investment in corporations that profit from Israeli apartheid, genocide, and military occupation of Palestine.”
In the past week, tensions have surged as Jewish students on campus have reported threats, harassment, and fears about their safety due to the protests. The New York Times shared on April 21 a video from X user David Lederer showing a masked protester seemingly chanting “Go back to Poland” while carrying a Palestinian flag; another of Leder’s posts on X reported some protesters attempted to steal and burn an Israeli flag as well.
“Obviously, over the past six months tensions have often been very high on campus … but what we’ve seen since Wednesday has taken this to a whole other level,” Jacob Schmeltz, a senior at Columbia, tells Her Campus in an exclusive interview. “Physically identifiable Jewish students who are just trying to go to class, go to the dining hall, go back to their dorm, go to the Hillel building, are being confronted and verbally and physically harassed … It’s been incredibly distressing.”
Her Campus reached out to Columbia University Apartheid Divest, Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine, and Columbia-Barnard Jewish Voice for Peace for comment on this story but did not hear back in time for publication. However, a statement from Columbia-Barnard Jewish Voice for Peace released April 22 denounces any acts of antisemitism while also calling out Shafik for bringing in the NYPD to arrest protestors on April 18 (which sparked solidarity protests at colleges across the country). “We condemn any and all hateful or violent comments targeting Jewish students,” the statement reads. “However, in shutting down public protest and suspending students, the actions of the University of Columbia are not ensuring safety for Jewish students — or any students — on campus.”
Groups from outside Columbia’s student body — which student protesters are distancing themselves from — have also gathered on and around campus, adding to the chaos. “The line between what is on campus and what is off campus has been completely blurred,” Schmeltz says. “That’s one of the really concerning things and one of the most direct ways we’ve seen the university fail over the last couple of days. They are trying to only let people with Columbia IDs come onto campus. But that’s something they have not been able to enforce.”
One thing most students appear to agree upon — although for differing reasons — is their disapproval over how Columbia’s leadership has handled the situation. On April 21, Elie Buechler, a rabbi associated with Columbia University, called upon Jewish students to “return home as soon as possible and remain home until the reality in and around campus has dramatically improved.” Although Columbia organizations such as Hillel disagreed with this recommendation, many Jewish students have indeed decided to stay away from campus for the time being. Now that there is the option to finish the semester remotely, many will likely remain off campus for the rest of the school year.