A group of federal judges has announced a boycott of Columbia University, citing concerns over the institution’s handling of recent campus disruptions and allegations of fostering anti-semitism.
The judges, who hire law clerks annually, expressed their loss of confidence in Columbia University following the aftermath of the October 7 terrorist attacks by Hamas.
The university, once renowned for its academic excellence, has now been labeled by the judges as ground zero “for the explosion of student disruptions, antisemitism, and hatred for diverse viewpoints.”
In a letter addressed to Columbia University President Minouche Shafik, the judges expressed their dissatisfaction with the university’s handling of recent campus events.
“As judges who hire law clerks every year to serve in the federal judiciary, we have lost confidence in Columbia as an institution of higher education,” the letter reads. “Columbia has instead become an incubator of bigotry. As a result, Columbia has disqualified itself from educating the future leaders of our country.”
The judges highlighted three main steps that Columbia should undertake to reclaim its reputation:
- Serious Consequences for Students and Faculty: The letter demands that students and faculty involved in disruptions and violations of campus rules face significant consequences, including expulsion or termination. “Elite universities purport to train not just law-abiding citizens but future leaders,” the letter states. It also calls for identifying students who engage in such conduct so future employers can avoid hiring them.
- Neutrality and Nondiscrimination: The letter criticizes Columbia for applying “double standards” regarding free speech and student misconduct, emphasizing that “speech is not violence, and violence is not speech.”
- Viewpoint Diversity in Faculty and Administration: The judges argue that ideological homogeneity across Columbia has destroyed its ability to train future leaders. They call for significant changes in the composition of Columbia’s faculty and administration to restore confidence in the university.
In a stern warning, the judges make it clear that unless Columbia makes “extraordinary change,” they will refrain from hiring law clerks from Columbia University.
“Considering recent events, and absent extraordinary change, we will not hire anyone who joins the Columbia University community—whether as undergraduates or law students—beginning with the entering class of 2024,” the letter states.
The judges emphasize that their objective is not to hamper academic freedom but to restore it at Columbia. They cited the late Justice William Brennan, who famously refused to hire law clerks from Harvard Law School due to his disagreement with some of its faculty’s criticisms of the Supreme Court.
Read the letter below obtained by Free Beacon:
The Gateway Pundit previously reported that the demonstration by pro-Hamas supporters at Columbia University turned violent on Tuesday after Columbia University finally authorized the city to deploy officers onto the campus amid escalating tensions.
According to an NYPD official, out of the 112 people arrested at Columbia, 32 (29%) were not affiliated with the university.
One such alleged professional agitator is James Carlson, who was arrested inside Columbia University’s Hamilton Hall and has no affiliation with the University.
A group stormed the building while smashing windows and fortifying their position by barricading doors and covering windows, effectively taking control of the academic building.
When Carlson was arrested inside the building, he was already under investigation for grabbing an Israeli flag from a man near campus and setting it on fire in April.
But who is Carlson? He is the privileged son of a millionaire with a long history of violent protests.
And while Carlson “fights the man,” and rages against capitalism, which he can afford to do since it has benefitted him and his family, he goes home each night to his lavish $3.4 million Brooklyn brownstone property.
Another “shocker?” America haters stick together. Carlson’s stepmother is reportedly romantically linked to vocal leftist singer John Cougar Mellencamp.
NEW: James Carlson, one of the primary agitators in the recent Columbia’s riots, turns out to be a millionaire’s heir with a long history of violent protests.
A lawyer and self-styled anarchist, Carlson is the son of late ad mogul Dick Tarlow.
Despite his privileged… pic.twitter.com/WkXBQohtJC
— Hank (@HANKonX) May 4, 2024