A New York City police officer patrols the center of Columbia University ahead of a large commencement ceremony in May after weeks of pro-Palestinian protests.
Seth Wenig/AP
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Seth Wenig/AP
Three Columbia University deans have lost their jobs over what the university called disturbing texts that “involved ancient anti-Semitic tropes.” Columbia said the three are on indefinite leave and will not return to their previous positions.
Last May, during a panel discussion about Jewish life on campus, the three texted each other, mocking and belittling students’ complaints about anti-Semitism. The texts were recently released by a congressional committee investigating anti-Semitism at Columbia University and were first reported by the conservative website the Washington Free Beacon.
Former associate dean and chief administrative officer Susan Chang-Kim dismissed student complaints, texting that they were “coming from such a privileged place…it’s hard to hear my sadness. “
“It’s amazing what $$$$ can do,” Cristen Kromm, former dean of undergraduate life and director of student and family support, texted a vomiting emoji and wrote Former associate dean Matthew Patashnik said Jews on campus are simply trying to “make the most of this moment. There’s huge fundraising potential.”
Columbia University President Minush Shafik condemned their comments as “unacceptable and deeply disturbing, demonstrating a lack of seriousness about the concerns and experiences of our Jewish community and running counter to the values of our university.”
In fact, students called the comments particularly disturbing and hurtful, coming from those who responded to concerns about student life.
“It is extremely ironic and painful that someone charged with ensuring student and family success would hold such deep anti-Semitic bias,” said Eden Yadegar, a senior at Columbia University. She said, She had previously filed a formal complaint with the dean’s office but never received the answers or resolution she had hoped for.
“It feels like we’ve been knocking on a door that won’t open, and now we know why,” Yadegaard said. She is one of the latest students to file a lawsuit accusing Columbia of discriminating against Jewish students.
“These three are completely unfit for leadership positions in higher education,” said Elisha Baker, a junior at Columbia and another Jewish student. “This is unreasonable [they] Dismissive of Jewish students’ experiences with anti-Semitism and, worse yet, showing outright disdain for the Jewish community.
A fourth dean, Columbia College President Josef Sorett, was also involved in the text message flow, but he apologized for his role last month and will remain in his post. He wrote to students on Monday saying he was “deeply sorry” for what happened in a community where he was “responsible for setting the culture and tone of our staff.” He vowed to “heal, repair and rebuild trust and accountability,” noting that “while not necessarily true, some of the text messages exchanged may be reminiscent of anti-Semitic tropes.”
Baker called Sorrett’s choice of words “sad.”
“It’s hard for me to understand why it’s still so difficult for our administrators to clearly call out anti-Semitism,” Baker said. “The government must commit […] Establish ethically clear standards and expectations for the treatment of Jews on campus.
The three deans who were removed did not respond to requests for comment.
Columbia University also announced Monday that it will provide new, “robust” anti-Semitism and anti-discrimination training for faculty, staff and students starting this fall.
David Schizer, former dean of the law school and chairman of Columbia University’s anti-Semitism task force, called it “a good start.” There are “real problems” at Columbia, said Schizer, who was also part of a Jewish life panel that the three deans texted to discuss.
“This requires an ‘all-in’ approach,” he said. “We need to change our culture.”
Columbia has been criticized since the start of the Israel-Hamas war, when pro-Palestinian student groups accused the university of supporting Israel while ignoring the suffering of Palestinians and criticized the school’s dean for “confusing Palestinian resistance as ‘Terrorism’.
As pro-Palestinian protests intensify at Columbia and Jewish students complain about an increasingly hostile environment, Columbia is facing growing pressure from students, alumni and Congress to address it all. Columbia University is one of many schools currently facing a federal investigation.
