Dear President Shafik,
We, the undersigned, write to you as alumni of Columbia Law School to express our unwavering support for the brave student organizers of the Gaza Solidarity Encampment on Butler Lawn. We are alarmed by your recent decision to authorize police intervention against peaceful student protestors questioning the University’s ties to institutions that profit from Israeli apartheid. On April 18, 2024, you sent an email to the University community noting that you were authorizing the NYPD to forcibly remove the students because you had “determined that the encampment and related disruptions pose a clear and present danger to the substantial functioning of the University.” This dishonest assessment is contradicted by the NYPD itself, whose leadership asserted that it made no finding of a “clear and present danger” and only conducted its operation at your request due to alleged trespass violations. When asked to characterize the protests, NYPD Chief of Patrol John Chell said that the “clear and present danger” was identified by Columbia, not by the NYPD, and clarified that “the students that were arrested were peaceful, offered no resistance whatsoever, and were saying what they wanted to say in a peaceful manner.” We condemn this mass arrest of students (including Legal Observers) criticizing the assault on Gaza, the unprecedented levels of censorship against these students, and the unjustified circumvention of due process in disciplinary actions against them. You must end the University’s prejudicial treatment and broad incitement against your students for their principled support of Palestinian liberation. We pledge to boycott the University until you heed the demands of Columbia University Apartheid Divest, and until you respect the basic legal tenets of academic freedom, freedom of expression, and human rights.
In Solidarity,
Alumni of Columbia Law School
