All posts tagged: Columbia

Trump administration cancels 0 million in funding for Columbia University : NPR

Trump administration cancels $400 million in funding for Columbia University : NPR

Published by Sam

Columbia students organize dueling memorials and rallies both for Israel and Palestinians in Gaza on the one-year anniversary of the October 7th Hamas attack, on Oct. 7, 2024 in New York City. Alex Kent/Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Alex Kent/Getty Images The Trump administration says it has canceled $400 million in federal grants and contracts to Columbia University over what it described as the school’s failure to police antisemitism on campus. The cancellation was announced Friday in a joint statement from the Department of Justice, Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Education and the U.S. General Services Administration. The decision was carried out, the statement said, “due to the school’s continued inaction in the face of persistent harassment of Jewish students.” It’s unclear what programs at the school may be affected by the cancellation. The statement said the funding pullback was “the first round of action” and that “additional cancellations are expected to follow.” The government also said Columbia holds more than $5 billion in federal grant commitments. In a statement to …

British Columbia recriminalizes drug possession, drawing praise, worry

British Columbia recriminalizes drug possession, drawing praise, worry

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VANCOUVER — It was less than two years ago that officials in British Columbia, the epicenter of Canada’s drug overdose crisis, unveiled what they called “bold action.” The experiment, backed by Canada’s police chiefs, was to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of some drugs — including methamphetamine, cocaine, fentanyl and heroin — for personal use. The approach, officials said, would reduce the stigma that can discourage users from seeking treatment and the criminal records that can prevent them from rebuilding their lives. If the three-year trial produced results, it could be a template for the rest of the country. But now, with complaints about public drug use rising and a provincial election looming, they’ve abruptly reversed course. The center-left New Democratic Party government, which championed the policy, last month received approval from Ottawa to recriminalize drug possession in most public spaces. GET CAUGHT UP Summarized stories to quickly stay informed “The people who are struggling with addiction are people that we love,” B.C. Premier David Eby told reporters in April. “But sometimes, tough love …

Columbia seniors, parents say canceling commencement is a ‘demoralizing’ end

Columbia seniors, parents say canceling commencement is a ‘demoralizing’ end

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Columbia’s announcement Monday that it was canceling next week’s universitywide commencement ceremony in favor of small-scale celebrations was met with disappointment from seniors and their families, upending plans that a tumultuous school year could be salvaged with the normalcy of a time-honored tradition. Pro-Palestinian demonstrations over Israel’s war in Gaza bookended seniors’ final academic year at the Ivy League institution’s upper Manhattan campus, where a tent encampment on the lawn and the occupation of Hamilton Hall, an administration building, resulted in scores of arrests and concerns over safety. “It’s been a tough time — I think it’s been demoralizing,” graduating senior Alexis Ishmael said. “Campus morale is so low. It’s just sad.” Ishmael said she and her parents had to “make their peace” that a typical commencement ceremony at Columbia, which dates to 1758, when the school was known as King’s College, might not occur because of fraught security issues. But still, she said, she held out hope. She recalled another Columbia commencement ceremony nine years ago that grabbed headlines when a senior graduated with …

Columbia University cancels main commencement ceremony, Emory moves events

Columbia University cancels main commencement ceremony, Emory moves events

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Protesters seen in tents on Columbia University’s campus on April 24. The school later suspended protesters who didn’t leave, and called New York City police to arrest those who occupied a building on campus. Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images Protesters seen in tents on Columbia University’s campus on April 24. The school later suspended protesters who didn’t leave, and called New York City police to arrest those who occupied a building on campus. Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images Two universities announced changes to their commencement plans on Monday, after a tumultuous few weeks on campus. Columbia University is canceling its main ceremony and will focus on multiple school-specific celebrations instead. And Emory University announced it will relocate graduation from its Atlanta campus to a complex in Duluth, Ga., over 20 miles away. Officials at the New York City institution said in their Monday announcement that based on feedback from students, they will prioritize Class Days and school-level ceremonies, “where students are honored individually alongside their peers,” rather than the …

Columbia University Cancels Commencement Amid Pro-Palestinian Protests

Columbia University Cancels Commencement Amid Pro-Palestinian Protests

Published by Sam

Columbia University is canceling its large university-wide commencement ceremony following weeks of pro-Palestinian protests that have roiled its campus and others across the U.S., but it will hold smaller school-based ceremonies this week and next, the school announced Monday. “Based on feedback from our students, we have decided to focus attention on our Class Days and school-level graduation ceremonies, where students are honored individually alongside their peers, and to forego the university-wide ceremony that is scheduled for May 15,” officials at the Ivy League school in upper Manhattan said in a statement. Noting that the past few weeks have been “incredibly difficult” for the community, the school said in its announcement that it made the decision after discussions with students. “Our students emphasized that these smaller-scale, school-based celebrations are most meaningful to them and their families,” officials said. “They are eager to cross the stage to applause and family pride and hear from their school’s invited guest speakers.” Most of the ceremonies that had been scheduled for the south lawn of the main campus, where …

Columbia University cancels graduation ceremony due to Gaza protests

Columbia University cancels graduation ceremony due to Gaza protests

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A sticker in support of Palestians in Gaza covers a sign set up by the Columbia University announcing preparation for the upcoming commencement ceremony on April 29, 2024 in New York City. ALEX KENT / AFP Columbia, the prestigious New York university at the heart of US campus protests against the war in Gaza, announced Monday, May 6, that it has canceled the main ceremony for graduating students next week. The Ivy League institution said it would “forego the university-wide ceremony that is scheduled for May 15” and hold a series of smaller events instead. Read more Subscribers only The war in Gaza is sending American campuses into turmoil Noting that the past few weeks have been “incredibly difficult” for the community, the school said in its announcement that it made the decision after discussions with students. “Our students emphasized that these smaller-scale, school-based celebrations are most meaningful to them and their families,” officials said. “They are eager to cross the stage to applause and family pride and hear from their school’s invited guest speakers.” …

Columbia University cancels main commencement after protests that roiled campus for weeks

Columbia University cancels main commencement after protests that roiled campus for weeks

Published by skeptic

New York —  Columbia University is canceling its large university-wide commencement ceremony amid ongoing pro-Palestinian protests but will hold smaller school-based ceremonies this week and next, the university announced Monday. “Based on feedback from our students, we have decided to focus attention on our Class Days and school-level graduation ceremonies, where students are honored individually alongside their peers, and to forego the university-wide ceremony that is scheduled for May 15,” Columbia officials said in a statement. The protests stem from the conflict that started Oct. 7 when Hamas militants attacked southern Israel, killing about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking roughly 250 hostages. Vowing to destroy Hamas, Israel launched an offensive in Gaza that has killed more than 34,500 Palestinians, about two-thirds of them women and children, according to the Health Ministry in the Hamas-ruled territory. Israeli strikes have devastated the enclave and displaced most of its inhabitants. The University of Southern California earlier canceled its main graduation ceremony while allowing other commencement activities to continue. Source link

‘By Any Means Necessary’ at Columbia

‘By Any Means Necessary’ at Columbia

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Last month, a pro-Palestinian activist stood in front of me on Columbia University’s campus with a sign that read By Any Means Necessary. She smiled. She seemed like a nice person. I am an Israeli graduate student at the university, and I know holding that sign is within her rights. And yet, its message was so painful and disturbing that after that moment, I left New York for a few days. If I’d had the courage, I would have asked that student, “What exactly do you mean by ‘any means necessary’?” Holding up signs? Leading demonstrations? Or do knives also fall under that category? Guns and rifles as well? Raping and taking civilians hostage? (As of this writing, 133 hostages are still being held in Gaza.) And whom would these means be employed against? Columbia? The Israeli government? Soldiers? Civilians? Children? Since my return to Columbia, tensions have escalated dramatically. After protesters broke into Hamilton Hall on Tuesday night, the administration sent in the NYPD to evacuate the building and arrest the occupiers. This is …

SNL Cold Open Centers on Columbia University’s Handling of Protests

SNL Cold Open Centers on Columbia University’s Handling of Protests

Published by Sam

Saturday Night Live‘s latest cold open centered on Columbia University’s handling of the pro-Palestinian protests on campus amid the Israel–Hamas war. During the sketch, Mikey Day, Kenan Thompson and Heidi Gardner played concerned parents of students participating in the protests. Last week, hundreds of demonstrators were arrested after the school’s president called the New York Police Department to help restore order on campus. Police cleared the university’s Hamilton Hall after protesters occupied the administration building earlier in the day. After being asked their thoughts on the protests, Gardner initially responded, “It’s been tough. Now, I’m all for free speech, but I don’t understand what they think they’re accomplishing and that’s really putting a strain on me and my daughter’s relationship.” Thompson later shared his thoughts: “Nothing makes me prouder than young people using their voices to fight for what they believe in.” However, once Michael Longfellow’s Ryan Aper expressed that his daughter must feel very supported by him when protesting, his tone completely changed. “Nah man, you bugging. Alexis Vanessa Roberts better have her butt …

We Columbia University students urge you to listen to our voices | Columbia College Student Council

We Columbia University students urge you to listen to our voices | Columbia College Student Council

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On Tuesday night, we watched in horror as hundreds of riot police flooded our beloved campus and brutalized our classmates. The next day, students awoke with swollen faces, bruised wrists and lacerations – all results of inhumane police treatment. The past two weeks have been tumultuous, marked with mass arrests of student demonstrators, an encampment on our lawns, national media attention and vile acts of hatred. Countless have spoken on our behalf. But by speaking over us, media outlets and politicians have created a distorted narrative – one which unfairly characterizes our community. Now, it is time to elevate student perspectives, the “us”, rather than the “them”. The traumatic environment and militarization of our campus are not the sole product of ill-intended protesters or reckless non-affiliates, as claimed by administrative emails; rather, they are the fault of the senior administration themselves. For months, this crisis has brewed as administrators neglected student and faculty voices. We must be clear: the administration has put our students’ safety at risk and has failed to ensure a conducive learning …