Tell Columbia University: No More Suspensions, No More Arrests! We will not rest, until Columbia divests.
To President Minouche Shafik, College and University Deans, and the Board of Trustees
DEMAND DIVESTMENT AND AMNESTY FOR STUDENT PROTESTORS
On April 17th, at 4:00 a.m. hundreds of Columbia students gathered on the university’s lawn to stage a peaceful protest — the Gaza Solidarity Encampment — in order to draw attention to the university's complicity in the ongoing genocide in Palestine and to demand an end to Columbia’s continued investment in corporations that profit from Israeli occupation, apartheid, and genocide. This action was organized by Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD), a coalition of over 100 campus organizations formed after Columbia's unjust suspension of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) and Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP).
Columbia University has once again demonstrated its willingness to brutalize its own students in an attempt to evade demands for financial divestment from Israel. On April 18 at 1:40 PM, at the direction of President Minouche Shafik, NYPD entered campus. They brutally arrested more than 100 students, and even denied healthcare to a Columbia affiliate who fainted.
In recent months, Columbia and Barnard students have been threatened with suspension and eviction for participating in peaceful political actions. In the face of a chemical attack during a peaceful protest and ongoing doxxing and harassment, many students are experiencing disproportionate disciplinary action and a total lack of safety in their places of work and learning. Three Barnard students, from SJP and JVP were suspended the morning of April 17th. This targeted repression of Palestinian students and their allies comes as no surprise given Columbia President Minouche Shafik’s recent boasts about collaborating with the NYPD and FBI on campus for the first time in 50 years in advance of her congressional hearing.
We, the undersigned of this petition, amnesty from any criminal charges. We further call on Columbia University to grant complete amnesty from both legal claims and academic discipline for participants in and supporters of the encampment. In addition, we call on Columbia University to reverse the suspensions and evictions of the Columbia Five, a group of students disciplined without due process, as well as all other suspended students and workers on campus.
Furthermore, we stand in solidarity with the demands of the Gaza Solidarity Encampment: divestment of all Columbia University finances, including the endowment, from corporations that profit from Israeli apartheid, genocide, and occupation in Palestine, as well as full disclosure of all of Columbia's investments. We call for swift action to meet Columbia University Apartheid Divest’s additional demands including the academic boycott of Israel, an end to displacement in Harlem and in Palestine, an end to the repression on campus, and a call from the university for a permanent ceasefire.
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To:
To President Minouche Shafik, College and University Deans, and the Board of Trustees
From:
[Your Name]
DEMAND DIVESTMENT AND AMNESTY FOR STUDENT PROTESTORS
On April 17th, at 4:00 a.m. hundreds of Columbia students gathered on the university’s lawn to stage a peaceful protest — the Gaza Solidarity Encampment — in order to draw attention to the university's complicity in the ongoing genocide in Palestine and to demand an end to Columbia’s continued investment in corporations that profit from Israeli occupation, apartheid, and genocide. This action was organized by Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD), a coalition of over 100 campus organizations formed after Columbia's unjust suspension of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) and Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP).
Columbia University has once again demonstrated its willingness to brutalize its own students in an attempt to evade demands for financial divestment from Israel. On April 18 at 1:40 PM, at the direction of President Minouche Shafik, NYPD entered campus. They brutally arrested more than 100 students, and even denied healthcare to a Columbia affiliate who fainted.
In recent months, Columbia and Barnard students have been threatened with suspension and eviction for participating in peaceful political actions. In the face of a chemical attack during a peaceful protest and ongoing doxxing and harassment, many students are experiencing disproportionate disciplinary action and a total lack of safety in their places of work and learning. Three Barnard students, from SJP and JVP were suspended the morning of April 17th. This targeted repression of Palestinian students and their allies comes as no surprise given Columbia President Minouche Shafik’s recent boasts about collaborating with the NYPD and FBI on campus for the first time in 50 years in advance of her congressional hearing.
We, the undersigned of this petition, demand amnesty from any criminal charges. We further call on Columbia University to grant complete amnesty from both legal claims and academic discipline for participants in and supporters of the encampment. In addition, we call on Columbia University to reverse the suspensions and evictions of the Columbia Five, a group of students disciplined without due process as well as all other suspended students and workers on campus.
Furthermore, we stand in solidarity with the demands of the Gaza Solidarity Encampment: divestment of all Columbia University finances, including the endowment, from corporations that profit from Israeli apartheid, genocide, and occupation in Palestine, as well as full disclosure of all of Columbia's investments. We call for swift action to meet Columbia University Apartheid Divest’s additional demands including the academic boycott of Israel, an end to displacement in Harlem and in Palestine, an end to the repression on campus, and a call from the university for a permanent ceasefire.