Columbia law students claim they are ‘irrevocably shaken’ after Gaza camp, ask for no exams, passing grades
Columbia law students pleaded with the law school’s administration to cancel all final exams and pass all students for the work they did the past semester after they were “irrevocably shaken” by arrests at the Gaza Camp protest this week.
“As the Administrative Board of student editors of the Columbia Law Review, we urge the Law School to cancel exams and give all students passing grades for their work throughout the semester,” the student board said in a press release.
“In the alternative, it is our view that the Law School at the very least observes the community’s overwhelming call for mandatory Pass/Fail during this horrific time for our campus,” it added.
The request from the students to the law school administration comes as many arrests took place after students and protesters at the school inspired numerous Gaza Camp protests across the nation at other colleges.
After occupying land by pitching tents on school grounds, the Columbia Gaza Camp protesters eventually occupied buildings on campus that were broken into and vandalized.
Although many arrests took place, the majority of them on Columbia’s campus were not of students. Many were from outside the campus community.
To quell the situation and occupation of the buildings, hundreds of police officers had to descend on the university.
The statement pleaded with the law school to cancel the exams, “The violence we witnessed last night has irrevocably shaken many of us on the Review. We know this to be the same for a majority of our classmates. Videos have circulated of police clad in riot gear mocking and brutalizing our students.”
“The events of last night left us, and many of our peers, unable to focus and highly emotional during this tumultuous time. This only follows the growing distress that many of us have felt for months as the humanitarian crisis abroad continues to unfold, and as the blatant antisemitism, islamophobia, and racism on campus have escalated,” they added.
As the Washington Free Beacon reported, the students also take issue with the exams in general and stated, “The current exam policy raises concerns around equity and academic integrity,” the statement added. “Many are unwell at this time and cannot study or concentrate while their peers are being hauled to jail.”
The students also blamed a “white supremacist, neo-fascist hate group” in part for their ills, reportedly referring to a pro-Israel rally that took place near the property.