Columbia University’s embattled President Minouche Shafik on Friday called the last two weeks “among the most difficult in Columbia’s history,” as anti-Israel protests continue to rage on the New York City campus.
Shafik, speaking publicly for the first time about the long-running demonstrations that have taken over the campus since police cleared an occupied campus building in a video message posted to the university’s social media, said the “turmoil, tension, division and disruption have impacted the entire community.”
She noted that the students have “paid an especially high price” by losing out on the final days of the year in classrooms and residence halls — “For those of you who are seniors, you’re finishing college the same way you started: online.”
She continued, “No matter where you stand on any issue, Columbia should be a community that feels welcoming and safe for everyone.”
