Columbia’s campus has seen months of controversy and conflict, including an alleged chemical attack against pro-Palestine students during a January protest. According to Inside Higher Ed’s reporting, these most recent suspensions come as “the university’s response to campus antisemitism is under investigation, not only by the House committee but also by the US Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, which is also investigating numerous other institutions.”
In a public statement, Columbia University president Minouche Shafik called the Resistance 101 event “an abhorrent breach of our values,” claiming the event “featured speakers who are known to support terrorism and promote violence.” Students have not made any public comment on the nature of the event.
“It’s no coincidence that they started ramping this up just two weeks before the congressional hearing,” Columbia social work student Aidan Parisi, who received a suspension, tells Teen Vogue. “The reason we are suspended is not because of any event, it’s because we’re refusing to participate in an arbitrary and distasteful investigation.”
Parisi says two private investigators came to their door in relation to a Columbia investigation; Parisi declined to participate. “They are basically holding our housing, our careers, our academic careers, access to medical care overhead to force us into meeting with two private investigators,” Parisi explains. “So that is why we’re suspended, for refusing to go into a meeting where we don’t know what exactly is going to happen at this meeting.”
In response to a request for comment from Teen Vogue, a Columbia spokesperson says, “A number of students were suspended in connection with the Resistance 101 event. The University continues to work through the disciplinary process.” They also share a letter sent to the students who received suspensions, which is addressed to “student leader of a group that was identified as a member of the non-recognized coalition of student organizations, Columbia University Apartheid Divest (“CUAD”) in an article published by CUAD in the Columbia Spectator,” referring to a November 2023 article.
Palestine Legal and the New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU) are currently suing Columbia over the university’s suspension during the fall semester of its SJP and Jewish Voice for Peace chapters.