Columbia University President Minouche Shafik and board co-chairs Claire Shipman and David Greenwald are preparing to testify on Capitol Hill in front of the House Education and Workforce Committee. The hearing will take place on April 17 and focus on addressing antisemitism on the New York campus.
Originally, Shafik was invited to testify at a December hearing, which eventually led to the resignations of the presidents of Harvard and the University of Pennsylvania. However, due to a scheduling conflict, Shafik couldn’t attend.
Now, the spotlight is on Columbia’s leaders as they ready themselves to field questions about their campus’s handling of antisemitic incidents.
Committee Chair Virginia Foxx emphasized the severity of the situation, citing “some of the worst cases of antisemitic assaults, harassment and vandalism” at Columbia University.
Foxx stressed the importance of understanding how the university is addressing these issues and why its own policies may have fallen short in protecting Jewish students.
A spokesperson for Columbia University expressed the school’s commitment to combating antisemitism and its readiness to discuss efforts in safeguarding Jewish students and maintaining campus safety.
On the other side of the issue, the New York Civil Liberties Union and a Palestinian rights group are suing Columbia University over the suspension of two pro-Palestinian student groups. They claim Columbia violated its own rules and stifled their right to free speech under the First Amendment. The lawsuit aims to reverse the suspensions. Columbia representatives declined to comment.
