23/11/2023–|Last updated: 11/23/202311:02 PM (Mecca time)
Dozens of graduates of Columbia University expressed their protest against the university administration’s decision to suspend the activities of pro-Palestine student groups two weeks ago.
A video clip posted on social media on November 22, 2023 showed graduates throwing their hats and gowns at the university gate, in protest against the administration’s expulsion of the group “Students for Justice in Palestine” and “Jewish Voice for Peace.”
Columbia University grads dumped their caps and gowns outside the school in protest of the banning of pro-Palestine student groups.
The university admitted to changing school rules to ban Students for Justice in Palestine and Jewish Voices for Peace. pic.twitter.com/cJ0Te985RA
— BreakThrough News (@BTnewsroom) November 21, 2023
This came during a protest organized by dozens of university graduates, during which they chanted slogans against the administration’s decisions, considering that it supports Israel in its war on the Gaza Strip and does not stand with the oppressed.
The students raised banners with slogans such as: “We are a descendant of free people and you are a descendant of supporters of apartheid,” and “You can suspend the activities of associations supporting Palestine, but Palestine will survive.”
One of the students said at the vigil, “All of you who wear abayas and hats, we will go directly to that gate and throw them away because they mean nothing to us.”
She added, “A little more than a week ago, a month after the relentless genocide against the Palestinian people in Gaza, Columbia University, faced with a wide range of options and ways to repudiate its complicity in genocide, turned its sights toward the voices of liberation in Palestine on this campus with the goal of One is to silence them.”
She continued, “Now I say that I am a proud graduate because I place myself among a chain of courageous organizers who have fought for freedom in Palestine and the world for many generations. You belong to a lineage of students who rose up in the sixties and seventies for black liberation and for civil rights, and joined a huge movement.” Against the war in Vietnam, you are of that breed.”
The student appealed to her university administration, saying, “Stand on the right side of history. Stand with your students. Stand with Palestine. Until then, we return our caps and gowns. We will not engage in any form of cooperation and support for this institution.”
The student also spoke to her colleagues, saying, “I ask you all to raise your hats and gowns high in the air so that they can see you. We will go directly to that gate and we will deposit it because it means nothing to us, and during that I want you to repeat two words: Long live Palestine.”
On November 10, Columbia University suspended the membership of the “Students for Justice in Palestine” and “Jewish Voice for Peace” groups against the backdrop of protests denouncing mass massacres in the Gaza Strip, as the university considered the behavior of these two groups a violation of university policies.
BREAKING: The University suspended the Columbia chapters of Students for Justice in Palestine and Jewish Voice for Peace on Friday following a Thursday walkout that drew hundreds of protesters to Low Steps. This is a developing story. https://t.co/RaSJtK3pH2
— Columbia Daily Spectator (@ColumbiaSpec) November 10, 2023
On November 15, 43 organizations affiliated with Columbia University issued a statement calling on the administration to stop “supporting the Israeli apartheid regime” and stop suppressing pro-Palestinian activity.
The statement included an explanation of the crimes committed by the Israeli occupation in the Gaza Strip, including bombing hospitals and schools, cutting off food and water, and killing more than 10,000 people, most of them children and women.
Last night, SWC members voted to formally affiliate with Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD). With this motion, SWC joins a coalition that includes 40 campus groups in solidarity with Palestine.
You can read more about CUAD’s mission here:https://t.co/QSLamQEmG6
— Student Workers of Columbia (@SW_Columbia) November 15, 2023
The statement confirmed that the movement’s goal is to withdraw the investments provided by the university to companies that support the Israeli occupation. They also called for an invitation to US President Joe Biden and members of Congress to adopt an immediate ceasefire in response to the request of the majority of Americans.
The demands extended to canceling the opening of the university center scheduled for Tel Aviv, and stopping the partnership that the university entered into with Tel Aviv University.
The organizations concluded their demands with the need to stop suppressing and distorting pro-Palestine activity, protect freedom of expression, as well as lift the ban imposed on the groups “Students for Justice for Palestine” and “Jewish Voice for Peace.”
On October 12, Columbia University closed its campus to the public ahead of two planned protests, one by Students for Justice in Palestine and the other by students supporting Israel.
It is noteworthy that Columbia University requested a court order to forcibly exclude students who were protesting against apartheid in South Africa, and threatened them with suspension and expulsion in 1985.
Then, the protesting students demanded complete divestment from the apartheid regime in South Africa, and began a 15-day hunger strike, chaining themselves to the floors of Hamilton Hall and then the main administrative building.
Columbia University
The founding of Columbia University in New York dates back to the year 1754, when it was founded by British King George II under the name “Kings College.” After the American Revolutionary War, its name changed to “Columbia College” in 1874, then it was changed again in 1886 to the name “Columbia University.” .
Columbia University occupies an area of 13 hectares in the Morningside Heights neighborhood, and is considered the fifth oldest American university, and is famous for having embraced the founding of modern genetics for the first time.
The university’s financial assets are estimated at $9.6 billion, and it has two main headquarters, one next to Morningside Heights, and the other in Washington Heights.
The university operates through 3 colleges for bachelor’s degrees, 13 colleges for graduate and professional studies, in addition to a college for continuing education.
The study programs are supported by research in the fields of medicine, science, arts, and humanities, and the academic programs offered in them focus on the fields of arts, science, business, medicine, journalism, social work, law, nursing, and public health.
Its most famous graduates include Alexander Hamilton (one of the founders of the United States), Warren Buffett (the most famous investor in the New York Stock Exchange), former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, Mauricio Macri (the 56th President of Argentina), Mikheil Saakashvili (the third President of Georgia), and the Palestinian-American thinker Edward Said. .
