Columbia Classes Go Virtual as President Now Wants to ‘Deescalate the Rancor’

Despite a campus lockdown, an NYPD raid, over a hundred arrests, and the suspension and eviction from student housing of several students, the protest encampment at Columbia University remains ongoing this morning. But it won't be a normal day of classes for students, because Columbia University President Minouche Shafik has announced all classes will meet virtually on Monday in order to "deescalate the rancor and give us all a chance to consider next steps." (It's possible the rancor was escalated when Shafik sicced the NYPD on students.) 

Over the weekend, local politicians joined the call for yet another crackdown, after a video was released of some pro-Palestine protesters shouting antisemitic slogans at Jewish students on campus, but outside of the encampment. Mayor Eric Adams released a statement Sunday night saying that "we will not be a city of lawlessness, and those professional agitators seeking to seize the ongoing conflict in the Middle East to sow chaos and division in our city will not succeed." (Kathy Hochul also waded in, and even Joe Biden joined in on the condemnation.) 

Both pro-Israel and pro-Palestine demonstrations have been held on Columbia's campus in recent days, but Adams made it clear he was siding with the administration when it came to sending in the NYPD, that he was "ready to respond if another request is made by the university, as they did on Thursday, when the NYPD successfully cleared encampments on Columbia's South Lawn without any injuries."

On Sunday night, student protesters released their own statement, expressing frustration at the media's focus on "inflammatory individuals who do not represent us." They reiterated their demands: divestment of Columbia's endowment from companies doing business with Israel; transparency of the university's finances; and amnesty for all disciplined or fired students and faculty. 

It is worth reiterating here that most if not all of the actions being condemned have reportedly happened outside of Columbia's campus, while the encampment and protests on Columbia's campus have been peaceful and respectful. As has frequently been the case at pro-Palestine demonstrations in New York City, many of the participants identify as Jewish. 

President Shafik, meanwhile, has called for the university administration to take steps to "try to bring this crisis to a resolution," including continuing discussions with protesters. 

Given the recent fates of academics attempting to placate bad-faith critics, Shafik's efforts might be futile. After a fairly obsequious appearance in front of a Republican-led House Committee last week during which she testified about alleged antisemitism on campus, and even after then sending in the Strategic Response Group against her own students, Republican Congressmember Elise Stefanik still called for her resignation on Sunday. 

Also over the weekend: New encampments calling for the liberation of Gaza were established at the New School and NYU. 

Some links to start yet another week of "rancor": 

• Mayor Adams's legal defense fund, created to help him stave off any possible prosecution for allegedly illegal activities, has returned $22,000 in illegal donations. 
• And we thought I had some filthy roommates! Yuk yuk. Meet the New Yorkers living with pigeons (on purpose). 
• Isra Hirsi spoke about her arrest and suspension from Barnard after being a part of the Gaza Solidarity Encampment. 
• Civilian review boards of police have essentially become useless in New York state, because police have just stopped cooperating with them. 
• New York Post? Team dog. 
• Millionaires are waiting for Trump to hand them a yacht-related tax break.
• Ten years after a landmark federal ruling, repairs for NYCHA residents are being done faster, but nowhere fast enough.
• How Sammy's Law finally made it into law (unless you're one of NYC's most dangerous streets). 
• Speaking of dangerous streets, the federal government has put the NYPD and the City on notice that it will sue it if cops and city workers keep blocking sidewalks and crosswalks. 
• A bad poll for Governor Kathy Hochul comes on the heels of a different bad poll for Mayor Adams.
• And finally, relying solely on the private sector to power New York's renewable energy transformation appears to have been a catastrophic decision.