Columbia Faculty Members Strike in Solidarity With Arrested Anti-Israel Students
“We will not return to a campus that is extremely dangerous for Black, Palestinian, Middle Eastern, Latinx, South Asian, Arab, Muslim, trans, queer, and other communities who are disproportionately profiled by police”
Members of a group called Faculty and Staff for Justice in Palestine at Columbia University have now gone on strike as a show of support for anti-Israel student protesters. They claim they are objecting to the presence of law enforcement on campus.
If the school had any brains, they would fire every single one of these people.
The Washington Free Beacon reports:
Columbia Faculty Group Goes on Strike in Solidarity With Anti-Israel Student Protesters
A Columbia faculty group has gone on strike in solidarity with arrested student protesters and will not return to campus until law enforcement is removed.
Faculty and Staff for Justice in Palestine at Columbia announced on Friday that “faculty, staff, and graduate workers of Columbia University, Barnard College, and Teachers College” would be “immediately” going on a strike until police are removed from the recently occupied campus.
“We will not return to a campus that is extremely dangerous for Black, Palestinian, Middle Eastern, Latinx, South Asian, Arab, Muslim, trans, queer, and other communities who are disproportionately profiled by police,” said the group. “As members of the faculty, staff, and graduate workers, we will not return to campus nor engage remotely for administrative service work—we will only serve students directly—until police are removed from our campus.”
The announcement comes as Columbia president Minouche Shafik struggles to reestablish normalcy on campus. It is unclear how Shafik will respond to the strike and calls to get rid of the police. The school’s plan for law enforcement to remain on campus extends until May 17, two days after its graduation ceremony was supposed to take place, to ensure order and safety. Columbia on Monday canceled the ceremony in light of the protests.
Here’s more from the group’s announcement on Instagram:
CALL FOR STRIKE: DEMILITARIZE EDUCATION!
While all hands have been on deck to demand for our disciplined and arrested students full amnesty and their records expunged, the entire world watched as President Shafik turned our campus into a site of police brutality. We, the faculty, staff, and graduate workers of Columbia University, Barnard College, and Teachers College, unequivocally repudiate the use of police against nonviolent student protesters. Given the use of military-grade assault weapons and surveillance technology against our students, an NYPD officer firing a gun inside university buildings in which students were present, and the announcement of the plan for police to remain on campus until May 17th, we believe no one can safely return to campus.
This flyer calling for faculty and staff of @Columbia and @BarnardCollege to strike is being handed out around campus today. The pro-Hamas faculty is behind this campaign. pic.twitter.com/TyziJeJ7GR
— Documenting Jew Hatred on Campus (@CampusJewHate) May 7, 2024
Simple solution, violation of their contracts. Return or be terminated.
Columbia Faculty Group Goes on Strike in Solidarity With Anti-Israel Student Protesters https://t.co/boFjAn8DDC
— Pog (@OSINT220) May 7, 2024
Columbia could easily replace these faculty members with other people and they should.
But probably won’t.
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Terminate every last one of them.
There are plenty of replacements available, start interviewing. Though considering Columbia’s culture, they may find lit harder to hire good people.
So… do you mean “fire them?” Or do you mean “send cyborg assassins after them?”
Because honestly I’m fine with either one.
Actually, it would be best for BOTH to happen.
First, terminate them, and allow them to go about their unemployed lives for 2 to 3 weeks, then send the cyborg assassins.
“We will not return to a campus”. Sounds like the quit to me.
Simple intent all along. Teach the teachers so that they teach everyone else and everyone becomes confused.
Columbia is beyond repair.
On January 21, 2025, President Trump – when he also sends in troops to occupy the UN – should also send in troops to Columbia, shut it down, and then blow up the buildings.
Trump is not as stupid as you are. He would never, ever do that. And if he did, that , then that would be the end of our Republic.
Just like Eisenhauer using the National Guard to integrate schools was the end of our Republic?
LOL. Leveling Columbia would “be the end of our Republic?”
Not hardly, Chet. Much more than that is going on right now, in case you haven’t noticed.
I look forward to hearing “Columbia Delenda Est.”
I don’t think Trump is good enough to do that. But if he were, it would be great.
Don’t be stupid! Columbia has a perfectly good infrastructure, maintenance staff in place, and a fine library.
Sell it, or arrange for a take0very by, a school like Hillsdale.
Let the iron gates of Al-Aqsa open, flood the buildings, and wash them clean, so that the true university may rise anew.
And salt the earth by closing all “__________ studies” departments. You want to major in Queer Studies or such, go somewhere else.
“It is the decision of the board of trustees that this institution will be shutting its doors, effective immediately. It is clear that we have failed in our mission as an institute of learning.”
Shafik must be replaced yesterday. Alum sh0uld suspend all donations to the endowment.
Shafik is more than a little behind the curve on this. The tent city should have been taken down after three days – I say three days so the leftists would have a little time to exercise their free speech rights, after which the mess would be cleaned up. It’s a little late for that now.
Everyone who refuses to do their job should be fired, tenure notwithstanding. Violence should be met with “police brutality” so they will know whereof they actually speak. Enforced discipline eventually breeds self discipline in those who desire to act like adults. Children, of any age, aren’t likely to understand.
.
I disagree, Campus rules should have been enforced from the get-go. Rule Reminders from the very first protests way back when the first of the Protests began – be it George Floyd, or a Conservative Speaker, or further back. If they had establised a pattern that Free Speech was always welcome, but Order On Campus and the Code of Student Conduct would always be enforced….they wouldn’t be here. But then, many of the people running things on campus support what these professors are doing. So. There’s that.
If they’re the employees, and the campus on which they work is so unsafe, then aren’t they the ones at fault?
Also, fire them all. Today. You could hire much better by using Craigslist, I’m sure.
“Columbia could easily replace these faculty members with other people and they should.”
Yes, they could hire the janitors from Hamilton Hall to replace them. It would be a step upwards. They have much more intelligence and humanity than these pro-Hamas faculty members.
I am a faculty member of the University of Chicago. Though I teach medicine, what I’ll say here applies to just about every field:
Most of us can be replaced by others who are just like us and just as good as us.
There are 50 (at least) applicants for every opening to be an assistant professor of history, or philosophy, or Romance language, or business. There are 10 for similar openings in medicine which requires much more specialized training. A university has to get pretty deep in the woods to be in a situation where it has few applicants for a position.
We’re replaceable. And the people who would replace are as good, are as well trained, and have experiences that would make them as valuable.
People in American factories learned that if you were to strike, there was a risk that your job would go elsewhere. Academics has yet to learn this, but it will.
I was just going to say that there are many underemployed potential faculty members who would love to fill in for these people at Columbia. The school could fire the troublemakers and replace them with just as good, or better, people within a month. But then SteveWhiteMD said it better.
Thank you for the compliment. I must point out that no university in the U.S. can hire any faculty person in a month. I participate in that endeavor at Chicago, and if I can get someone hired in a year I feel like I’m ahead of the game.
So yes, fire the troublemakers and replace them with just as good or better people within a year.
If they can’t be replaced in a month it’s a good thing spring semester is over.
The schools have all summer to get ready for the fall intake.
For the most part I’d think we are talking about humanities instructors rather than STEM ones. You can find graduates with those humanities degrees flipping burgers and serving grande lattes all across this country.
At the community college level in my state that ratio is reversed. I am having a difficult time filling part-time faculty positions, and some of my colleagues have similar problems with their full-time faculty openings. It’s true the pay at a community college is not as high as a four-year school and there is no tenure, but opportunity is there and waiting for applicants.
Oddly, these problems don’t seem to be happening at the community colleges, or at least not to the same degree as attempted at the “prestige” schools.
Probably because students at community colleges tend to be working class trying to better themselves as compared to spoiled brats at the Unis who never worked a day in their lives.
I know you’re making a comment about striking.
I’ve seen the over-supply in credentialed folks sufficient for U intake. I think the true scholars, true teachers, and true stewards of the institutions and knowledge are at best 1 in 10, irreplaceable, and hard to find. I can name 2 at my kinda Alma.
I think part of the over-supply comes from the demise of commercial true research. For several generations, producing new on-point knowledge was something the great manufacturing companies shepherded.
I wondered what happened to academic research. To the extent I’m aware of it, it is not inspiring.
Fire all the ignorant morons.
I agree. The informed morons are FAR better.
/ducking
I think it is time for a repeat of Reagan’s reaction to the air traffic controllers strike in 1981. The faculty should be given a warning to do their job or they are done. This isn’t 1968. These protesters are interfering with the lives of everyone at the university and it is being done to promote the intimidation of Jews at Columbia and celebrate the slaughter of Jewish inhabitants of Israel.
What a disgrace. How did we ever get to this point?
Post modernism and libdolt take over of education. Alas, conservatives pretty much did nothing–liberal arts? Not important. But it is.
The student revolutionaries of the 60s and 70s are now running the institutions, or created those who are.
Fire them. To the moon. From a very large cannon.
Also: Columbia has an endowment worth over $13 billion.
Not one thin dime from state or Federal taxpayers.
Ever again.
If the school had any brains, they would fire every single one of these people.
That would be a great start to the required reforms.
Isn’t this the same university that made their lowest employees unsafe? Not just FEEL unsafe, but actually PHYSICALLY unsafe? A hispanic man, IIRC? I wonder what would happen if the janitors, etc. went on strike to strike against the faculty…. could be fun.
Janitors don’t count.
They do, if they don’t work. Their lack is felt a lot quicker than some sociology “scholar”.
Typical anarchist (and Leftist Democrat) move. Make the Jewish and pro-Israel students feel unsafe and then call everyone but them the victim. Fire them all.
Remember Pres Reagan’s confrontation with the air traffic controllers? The stakes were much higher, more broad and immediate. He did the right thing, and showed great leadership. Does ANYONE think woke Columbia president Minouche Shafik has what it takes to resolve this in a similar manner?
She will probably give them a raise for their “principled stand” or some nonsense. I hope the NYPD demands Columbia foot the bill for all of their work, and that partially bankrupts this disgusting, foul, fake university.
Yes such a hero Reagan, he let SEIU do whatever it wanted, but the white male ATC’s with a job that lives depend on? That’s where he chose to make his stand. But then he was an old Dem just acting like a conservative in many ways.
But unlike that, here people actually should be fired.
I never once considered all the ATCs were white males, but they weren’t protecting anyone’s life when they were striking, right? If they were told to return to work or be fired and they refused to return to work, then regardless of their sex or race, they had to go. I’m not sure where your problem is with that.
why are we pretending that their stated goal(s) is not their stated goal(s)?
they state they want to turn western values into tribalistic anthems and we allow the gop to not do anything about it
as the gop and the dems conspire ( yeah!!! conspire) to make us just another
United Nations pet country we act as if the blood that lefty is spilling from the wounds of decent people onto the streets is just action relegated to the
west side of chicago or only certain boroughs in nyc
its no longer isolated and can be ignored
ITS AS IF THE TWIN TOWERS ARE FALLING on a day-to-day basis
except the omar crew doesnt have to hijack planes anymore
they hijacked congress>>>the schools>>the msm
Yeah whatever. If you’re going to rev people up, you should have a constructive suggestion for how they can act, without getting J6’ed. There was nothing we could have done about 9/11 either. It was a surprise to everyone who reads this blog.
correction:
“cant” be ignored
socialism >>communism is seen as a positive progressive move
except by those that have actually lived it
Only the divine intervention of George Floyd can save the university.
Obama’s alma mater. Now is your chance Columbia, FIRE every last one of these useless Leftist a-holes.
No one saw Obama there, so chances are he wasn’t there.
I’m reminded of the scene from The Hitchhiker Guide to the Galaxy where the representatives of the Philosophers’ Guild threaten to go on strike unless the supercomputer Deep Thought (tasked with answering the ultimate question of life, the universe, and everything) is shut down:
VROOMFONDEL: We’ll go on strike!
MAJIKTHISE: That’s right, you’ll have a national philosophers’ strike on your hands.
DEEP THOUGHT: Who will that inconvenience?
VROOMFONDEL: Never mind that, buddy. It’ll hurt.
Let them go on strike. Semester’s over anyway. And it’s not like Columbia could not whistle and have several thousand qualified applicants for each of their positions.
It’s not as if there’s any mystery about what to do in the face of deliberate non-performance of contractual duties:
https://legalinsurrection.com/2024/05/unc-provost-office-supports-sanctions-for-instructors-who-improperly-withhold-grades-in-protest-of-suspended-students-in-anti-israel-protests/
Off topic but kind of on topic I saw a bunch of high school kids at Starbucks today studying for their finals. One of them had on a Columbia university sweatshirt and her friend said to her loudly “take that shirt off before we go out tonight, I seriously don’t want to be seen with you wearing that.’ To which the girl withe Columbia shirt replied, ‘What …what am I wearing, OMG, I can’t believe I wore this shirt, like I don’t even know why I own it…I’m going to go home now and like throw it out….it’s like I’m wearing a Nazi shirt…I can’ t even believe I didn’t see that!” And seriously that girl left right then presumably to change her sweatshirt. So I’ll tell you what, random sampling of Plant high school seniors, I’m proud of you! Maybe there’s hope after all.
A candle in the darkness. Great kids.
Looks like the root causes of the Anti-Semitism and Anti-Americanism on campus have outed themselves. Perfect opportunity to eliminate this source of hate and insecurity by terminating all of them. They certainly can be replaced with more competent staff that probably doesn’t engage in plagiarism and who can be hired based on merit.
Too ambivalent. Maybe she didn’t want to be seen wearing the shirt of an “oppressive institution” that resisted divesting, etc.
“disproportionately profiled by police” …. Well if you commit a disproportionate amount of the criminal activity, what should you expect? Duh!
I would love to see the “yield” on the acceptances for admission sent out by Columbia this year. “None” would be what is merited.
Nevertheless there are still thousands of people who would crawl over broken glass (not to mention shell out six figures) for the opportunity to attend Columbia.
Well institutions are only as good as their brand. After all are really just companies making money, while they pretend to educate people. if your brand is bad and connected to violence and hatred that means less people want to buy what you are selling. Academic institutions aren’t forever, they can only last if their brand stays solid. Many colleges close every year due to insolvency or lack of enrollment. While that may seem impossible for an Ivy, I don’t think so. Why would you want to be associated with this school when there are so many other choices? In many ways, Ivys are more vulnerable to bad branding than state schools where you expect some percentage of the student body to be morons.
Does Columbia not have trustees or regents that should be stepping in at some point to force the president’s hand and restore some semblance of order?
Yes, which leads one to strongly suspect that the president is doing exactly what those trustees and regents want them to do.
I was greatly troubled by MIT’s last president, Rafael Reif, who was a woke tool. (If I am in no hurry to get rid of Sally Kornbluth, it’s partly that she’s so much better than Reif and is actively trying to fix the damage he did.)
Then I looked at the membership of the MIT Corporation (its board of directors) and understood that the rot was much deeper than just one or two guys.
How about terminating any student or faculty member wearing a mask? COVID has been over for quite some time. And money pox is an STD. FJB
If they don’t want to return to campus, fire every single one of them.
Acknowledging that I do not know what the exact terms of tenure are at Columbia as far as labor actions [they formally declared it a strike] are; I would gladly see every freaking one of them in an unemployment line. That said, I have to add that I cannot really see what any Poison Ivy League or wanna-be Poison Ivy League school adds to the country. They are incubators of hatred for America and Western Civilization, and their collapse would be a good thing. No one who went to or worked [academically] at one of them should be hired by anyone who loves our country or our civilization.
Subotai Bahadur
When I was a dean at a community college, every faculty vacancy advertised was often met by over 100 applications, many of the applicants having strong degrees and experience.
There’s no shortage of potential replacements.
In NJ the faculty contract had a no work stoppage clause. I wonder what they have at Columbia?
In NY state the public school teachers have no right to strike, and in return they get a guaranteed raise every year in the 2-3% range if there is no union contract.
I thought “Latinx” wasn’t a thing anymore.
“… Black, Palestinian, Middle Eastern, Latinx, South Asian, Arab, Muslim, trans, queer…”
Trans and Queer demand equal capitalization!
Fire them all now and let tnem wait on tables and do something productive with their time
We will not return to a campus that is extremely dangerous for Black, Palestinian, Middle Eastern, Latinx, South Asian, Arab, Muslim, trans, queer, and other communities who are disproportionately profiled by police”
Profiling? No need as all in one area doing only one thing….
Their presence at the “protest” or “strike” makes the job of Columbia very easy. Those who show up for this nonsense are fired, effective immediately. Use that endowment to fight off the inevitable lawsuits filed by these racist Anti Semite leftist “professors”. Get a fresh start. Take control of this mess of a University. I mean I know this won’t happen but it would be a great start to fix the disaster that is Columbia. The College President still has her job, which is the biggest joke of all….be better Columbia.
I think President Baroness Shafik thinks the same as these strikers. I could hear it in the statement she made after Hamilton Hall was cleared out, refusing to say the disruptors and oppressors were any worse than those they had been terrorizing.
I think we need a wealth tax on university endowments
This is the same issue with the campers, if you do what you should at the beginning then you never make it to the problems down the road.
We are watching a text book case of how appeasement works. Shades of Neville Chamberlain’s “Peace in Our Time” declaration … just before WWII. Because appeasement doesn’t work!
Home invaders crash through the door, demanding all your mobney. You offer them $100 to leave.
A mugger sneaks up behind you and demands your wallet. You offer your watch and wedding ring.
Your teen whines that everyone is going to a party at friends house when parents are out of town. You finally agree he can stay until 10;00. He comes home at 9:45, just to prove how responsible he is.
Then they should admit fewer of those types of students who keep getting in trouble with the police.
So what does this mean, they won’t be giving or grading finals or submitting final grades? If so, fire them, especially if it prevents students from graduating.
If it doesn’t mean that, start HR action but who cares really? They’re “on strike” during the unpaid summer months. Extremely impressive right?
Leftist Privilege knows no boundaries:
Conservatives can’t get a speaker to visit for a calm discussion in an auditorium for those that wish to attend because Leftists will complain their safety is at risk. Yet Leftist agitators can take over entire colleges and harass people based on their ethnicity or religion, and that’s 100% OK.
Pretty much, it’s like 1984 logic, war=peace; hate=love; kind of insanity. Actual violence and calls for violence is free speech; discussing controversial topics in a calm manner in an auditorium is violence and a threat to safety. Seriously our universities are such a joke, it’s hard to even fathom this level of stupidity.
Columbia as an institution needs to be de-Nazified.
These idiots are blind to the fact that NYPD is one of the most diverse PDs in the nation. All of the sub-groups they are claiming to be oppressed by NYPD are represented on the NYPD. So their claims are absolutely false from the start. The faculty are idiots. Why would anybody want to attend Columbia after this giant fail is beyond me.
You have the right to protest, Just not on any campus I’m in charge of. The children are all expelled no refunds, and the participating staff are fired, no unemployment. No questions asked no quarter given.