Well, the first week of classes at Columbia in the 2025-2026 academic year has come to an end without real disruption.
Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD, the leading group of the school’s pro-Palestine movement) was reportedly distributing anti-Israel paraphernalia outside of Barnard College on the first day of classes; and another anti-Israel - albeit lesser-known amongst those outside Columbia - student group, Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), began posting stickers declaring that antizionism is in fact not antisemitism while disparaging Acting President Claire Shipman, presumably for her willingness to speak with the federal government amidst the funding dispute which began earlier this year.
CUAD’s anti-Israel handouts were more robust, including a “disorientation guide” (which identifies Barnard President Rosenbury, Columbia President Shipman, and other administrators and board members as “fascists”) and other information packets highlighting “anti-Zionist therapists,” an “intifada incantation” poem, and various proclamations about the shared mission of the queer community and Palestinians.
Indeed, these materials are littered with calls “on queer and feminist activists and groups around the world to stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people” and against Israel; for Israel employs a strategy of “gay tourism” which uses “the language of gay and trans rights to direct international attention away from the oppression of Palestinians.” This is one of the many ways Israel and its supporters are racist and Islamophobic, CUAD claims, as “the promotion of ‘gay-friendly Israel’ relies on presenting Palestinians (and Arabs more generally) as the opposite: sexually regressive - and therefore undeserving of solidarity.”
Columbia students want to go back to being students
Although this may seem disheartening, it is important to realize that this sort of demonstration was contained to quite a small number of participants. In fact, many Columbians I have spoken with sense a level of disinterest amongst many students in the type of protest that has come to plague Columbia’s campus since October 7, 2023. Perhaps it speaks to reformed admissions processes (this fall’s first-year class is the largest in Columbia’s history) or just that Columbia students overall want to get back to what we do best: being students. Regardless, it is a good and healthy sign.
Over the summer, the current Columbia administration suspended and expelled over 70 students for their participation in the takeover of Butler Library and an alumni weekend tent encampment. Perhaps most famously, however, the University administration reached a deal with the United States government regarding federal funding (a battle that began as a result of concerns that the school has not adequately addressed antisemitism and discrimination more broadly since October 7).
Columbia did not admit that it mishandled (antisemitic) discrimination cases or violated anti-discrimination laws - in fact, the University did not admit to any wrongdoing at all - but agreed to pay “a $200 million settlement to the federal government over three years, and $21 million to settle investigations involving the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.” As a result, the majority of previously terminated or paused federal grants have been reinstated.
Importantly, ahead of the settlement, Acting President Shipman’s administration committed to “formally incorporating the IHRA definition of antisemitism into the work of our Office of Institutional Equity (OIE), housed under the Office of the Provost.” This has one of the largest implications for Jewish students at Columbia moving forward; it has been one of the most urgent demands, and I think I can speak for the majority of us when I say that we are happy to see this development.
Columbia also committed to additional training on antisemitism as well as appointing “Title VI and Title VII Coordinators to review and respond to allegations under University policies implementing the requirements of Title VI and Title VII, ensuring compliance with the laws’ prohibition of discrimination, based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin, as well as its prohibition on retaliation,” as outlined in President Shipman’s July 15 letter to the community.
Another significant development that many at Columbia are glad to see is a change in disciplinary procedures. Previously, the University Judiciary Board (UJB) heavily relied on student participation and decision-making when adjudicating many disciplinary cases, including those related to protests. Now, however, students are not involved in disciplinary proceedings; the UJB has been relocated to the Office of the Provost, which reports directly to the University president.
These developments combined with the relatively quiet first week of classes bodes well for the months ahead. Personally, my first days at the School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) this semester, my final semester, were delightful.
The sun has been shining amidst 70-80 degree temperatures here in New York City, and students have been bustling about campus through club fairs, classes, and social gatherings. Moreover, my first class of the semester was a course called The Intersection of Foreign Policy and Domestic Politics in Israel taught by none other than Nadav Eyal; and my week ended with a Chabad house shabbat dinner where hundreds, yes, hundreds, of Jewish students, new and returning alike, gathered. What a start!
For now, it is safe to say that all is generally going well at Columbia. Things have certainly improved; we are on a decent path to correction. With any luck, we’ll stay the course - and you won’t be hearing much more from me.
Noa Fay is a second-year master’s student at the Columbia School of International and Public Affairs concentrating in International Security Policy and specializing in International Conflict Resolution as part of the 4+1 accelerated program with Barnard College of Columbia University from which she graduated in May 2024 with a degree in political science.