“We call for the reversal of student suspensions and for departments to refuse to comply with university investigations or sanctions of students and employees participating in non-violent political action.”

[Philosophy Hall, Columbia University]

Current graduate students in the Department of Philosophy at Columbia University, as well as alumni of its graduate program, some of whom are professors elsewhere, have released a statement about the protests that have been taking place at the university this month.

Students at Columbia have been protesting Israel’s response to Hamas’s October 7th attack. A few days into the protest, Columbia University President Minouche Shafik suspended students taking part in them and authorized the New York Police Department to arrest protestors. Over 100 people were arrested.

In the statement the Columbia philosophy students “unequivocally condemn President Minouche Shafik’s decision” and demand “the reversal of student suspensions and for departments to refuse to comply with university investigations or sanctions of students and employees participating in non-violent political action.” They also “call on the Columbia administration to commit to never again call police onto campus to suppress student speech.”

Here’s the full text and signatories:

Statement on Recent Events from Graduate Students and Alumni of the Department of Philosophy at Columbia University

We, current and former graduate students of the Department of Philosophy at Columbia University, are appalled at the decision taken on April 18th by the University President to violate principles of academic freedom and free speech by authorizing the forcible removal and arrest of 108 of our students and colleagues.

On April 18th, the President of Columbia University, in the name of “safety,” brought armed police into our campus to use physical force against students who had established a non-violent encampment in support of Palestine on Columbia’s South Lawn. The encampment did not disrupt classes. It did not block access to campus or buildings. Nevertheless, the police were called in after only a day. The President took this action against the recommendation of the University Senate, violating principles of shared governance established in the wake of the 1968 protests. As a result of these arrests and suspensions, students have sustained injuries, lost access to Columbia health services, and been evicted from student housing with less than 15 minutes to gather their belongings.

This followed months of tensions at Columbia since the horrifying events of October 7th and the devastating aftermath. These events have been the topic of difficult and traumatizing discussion. Columbia’s administration could have responded by promoting dialogue and mutual understanding. Instead, the administration heavily restricted speech on campus and  disproportionately acted to silence one voice in particular – the voice of those protesting against the ongoing oppression and killing of Palestinians. It was in this environment of institutional repression that the student protesters decided to take action.

The University’s decision to arrest student protesters was thus the culmination of months of restriction against the public expression of support for Palestinians. The past few years have seen an alarming trend of bad faith political actors attempting to silence political speech they disagree with by policing academic institutions, thereby undermining elementary principles of academic autonomy. Columbia’s Board of Trustees has demonstrated more interest in appeasing these external forces than responding to the needs of their students, as have the administrations of other universities. We have witnessed the actions of police at other college campuses where professors are thrown to the ground and department chairs are dragged away in zip ties. Regardless of where we stand on the issue of Israel and Palestine, we should all agree that such attempts to suppress discourse are utterly unacceptable in any decent society committed to liberal principles.

As educators, we believe that it is our special responsibility to speak out when the University denies students the right to freely pursue their education. And as philosophers, we have a duty to uphold the values of free thought and open discourse, just as Sidney Morgenbesser and other members of our department did in 1968.

We therefore unequivocally condemn President Minouche Shafik’s decision. We call for the reversal of student suspensions and for departments to refuse to comply with university investigations or sanctions of students and employees participating in non-violent political action. We oppose further efforts from the administration to forcibly remove the new encampment, and call on the Columbia administration to commit to never again call police onto campus to suppress student speech. The best path forward, in our view, is for the administration to continue to negotiate with the representatives of Columbia University Apartheid Divest in good faith and without further threats.

Signed,

Current graduate students and alumni of the Department of Philosophy at Columbia University

Updated List of Signatures:

• • Ola Aksnes (Graduate Student) 
  • Avery Archer (Alum)
  • Elizabeth Benn (Alum)
  • Noah Betz-Richman (Graduate Student) 
  • Michael Brent (Alum)
  • Simon Brown (Alum)
  • Ellen Nora Burns (Graduate Student)
  • Samara Burns (Graduate Student)
  • César Cabezas (Alum)
  • Qian Cao (Graduate Student)
  • Bard Cash (Graduate Student)
  • May Chen (Alum)
  • Lisa Clark (Graduate Student)
  • Conor Cullen (Lecturer, Alum)
  • Rivka Chuyun Dai (Graduate Student)
  • Amelle Djemel (Visiting Scholar)
  • Beibei Du (Graduate Student)
  • Jeremy Forster (Alum)
  • Anthony Garuzzo (Graduate Student)
  • Nemira Gasiunas-Kopp (Alum)
  • Justin Xingzhi Guo (Graduate Student)
  • Joe Hamilton (Graduate Student)
  • Thimo Heisenberg (Alum)
  • Yarran Hominh (Alum)
  • Yitu Hu (Graduate Student)
  • Ethan Jacobs (Graduate Student)
  • Ye-Eun Jeong (Graduate Student)
  • Alex Jensen (Graduate Student)
  • Jared Jones (Graduate Student)
  • Bennett Knox (Alum)
  • Brittany Koffer (Lecturer, Alum)
  • Dabin Kwon (Alum)
  • Anya Leinberger (Graduate Student)
  • Yifan Li (Graduate Student)
  • Lisa Liu (Graduate Student) 
  • Helen Han Wei Luo (Graduate Student)
  • Eleonora Maccarone (Alum) 
  • Laura Martin (Alum)
  • Cornelia Mayer (Graduate Student) 
  • William McCarthy (Alum) 
  • Katharine McIntyre (Alum)
  • Devin Morse (Graduate Student)
  • Usha Nathan (Alum)
  • Fred Neuhouser (Alum)
  • Andreja Novakovic (Alum)
  • Ignacio Ojea (Alum)
  • Shivani Radhakrishnan (Alum)
  • Danielle Alma Ravitzki (Graduate Student)
  • Andrew Richmond (Alum)
  • Melissa Rees (Alum)
  • Amogh Sahu (Graduate Student)
  • Weiming Sheng (Graduate Student)
  • Xinyi Song (Graduate Student)
  • Mariam Sousou (Graduate Student)
  • Paul Spohr (Alum)
  • Sapphire Qiaochu Tang (Graduate Student)
  • Nandi Theunissen (Alum)
  • Chuyu Tian (Graduate Student)
  • Naser Tizhoosh (Graduate Student)
  • Aaron Xiaolong Wang (Graduate Student)
  • Connie Wang (Graduate Student)
  • Sara Wexler (Graduate Student)
  • Philip Yaure (Alum)
  • Chi Zhang (Graduate Student)

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