Columbia President FINALLY Takes Action Against Pro-Palestine Agitators Occupying Campus, Students Say They 'Won't Back Down'

After negotiations between pro-Palestine agitators and Columbia University President Minouche Shafik broke down over the weekend, the university announced that the student protesters occupying the campus must end their encampment by 2 pm or else face suspension. 

"It is important for you to know that the university has already identified many students in the encampment. If you do not leave by 2 pm, you will be suspended pending further investigation," the letter to the organizers reads, according to The New York Post. "If you voluntarily leave by 2 pm, identify yourself to a university official, and sign the provided form where you commit to abide by all university policies through June 30, 2025, or the date of the conferral of your degree, whichever is earlier, you will be eligible to complete the semester in good standing."

Shafik has been criticized relentlessly by Columbia alumni, donors, and lawmakers in recent weeks after failing to end the anti-Semitic protest that has seen the repeated harassment of Jews on campus. The campus has been filled with anti-Jewish and anti-Israeli slogans in recent weeks, including, "We say justice; you say how? Burn Tel Aviv to the ground! Hamas, we love you. We support your rockets, too! It is right to rebel, Al-Qassam, give them hell! It is right to rebel, Hamas give them hell! Free, free, free Palestine!" Footage from the campus also showed the protesters telling Jewish students to "go back to Poland" and calling for the students, who were called "pigs," to be killed.

The university president has reportedly been attempting to negotiate with the organizers to encourage them to "voluntarily disperse" instead of having to send in the police. These efforts, however, stalled, and the university is poised to finally take action following immense nationwide backlash. "Regretfully, we were not able to come to an agreement," she said in a statement. "We are consulting with a broader group in our community to explore alternative internal options to end this crisis as soon as possible."

As previously reported by the DC Enquirer, the New York Republican delegation demanded that the Columbia president resign from her post due to her lack of action. "Over the past few days, anarchy has engulfed the campus of Columbia University," a letter sent to Shafik reads. "As the leader of this institution, one of your chief objectives, morally and under law, is to ensure students have a safe learning environment. By every measure, you have failed this obligation. The situation unfolding on campus right now is a direct product of your policies and misguided decisions...Based on these recent events and your testimony in front of Congress, we have no confidence in your leadership of this once esteemed institution."

It appears that the public pressure campaign against Columbia is finally forcing the university president to act after the encampment forced the Ivy League institution to move all classes online for the remainder of the semester. Allowing demonstrators to occupy the campus for weeks before taking action is shameful, and Shafik's embarrassing lack of action should not go without consequences.

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