Columbia University settles lawsuit over unsafe environment amid campus protests

Columbia University settled a lawsuit brought by a Jewish student alleging that the school did not provide “a safe educational environment” for students during recent pro-Palestinian protests at the school.

The school agreed to take action, including designating “a specific person to act as a Safe Passage Liaison to serve as the designated point of contact for Columbia students with safety concerns as a result of protest activity” and allowing students who could not “complete key assignments or exams due to campus access restrictions related to demonstration activity on campus” and want “to seek an accommodation” to “submit a request for such accommodation to their respective instructor(s).”

A spokesperson for Columbia said in an emailed statement to The Hill that the university is “pleased we’ve been able to come to a resolution and remain committed to our number one priority: the safety of our campus so that all of our students can successfully pursue their education and meet their academic goals.”

In the original April complaint, the Jewish student alleged that from the beginning of a “Gaza Solidarity Encampment” on campus, she and other fellow Jewish students felt a rising risk of harassment and physical harm.

“The encampment has been the center of round-the-clock harassment of Jewish students, who have been punched, shoved, spat upon, blocked from attending classes and moving freely about campus, and targeted by pro-terrorist hate speech –– both verbal and in written form on massive banners and signs –– with statements such as: ‘Death to the Jews’; ‘Long live Hamas’; ‘Globalize the Intifada,’ the lawsuit said.

Earlier this year, pro-Palestinian protests broke out at many college campuses across the nation, most notably at Columbia. The protests faced accusations of antisemitism, which demonstrators pushed back on, and attracted the attention of multiple prominent politicians, including figures like House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer (R-Ky.).

“Now that we’ve helped restore basic principles of safety on Columbia’s campus, we’re excited to start real conversations about these issues: grounded in reality and informed by serious thought,” Jay Edelson, an attorney for the student, said in a press release. 

The Hill has reached out to an attorney for the student for comment.

This story was updated at 9:30 p.m.