A Jewish student at Columbia University in New York City filed a class action lawsuit against the learning institution on Monday, alleging the university failed to provide a safe environment for its students.
Along with filing the lawsuit, the student is also seeking an emergency injunction, requiring the university to enforce its Statement of Ethical Conduct and Administrative Code of Conduct to provide safe and secure access to education, free from harassment and discrimination, to allow the student and her peers to safely complete the semester in person.
The lawsuit – filed by a second-year female Jewish student at Columbia University, who is identified as C.S. – opens by acknowledging the importance of free and spirited debate on college campuses, adding that it is a unique American value and gives students the opportunity to learn how to analyze various viewpoints while developing positions and advocating for them.
When events turn violent and hostile, though, "genuine debate becomes impossible," the lawsuit notes.
After the attack on Israel by Hamas-led terrorists on Oct. 7, debates turned hostile due to a humanitarian crisis in Gaza, Israel’s military response to the attack, and the U.S.’s financial and military support for Israel.
"These debates often make people profoundly uncomfortable, and opinions are deeply divided," the lawsuit reads. "However, this kind of discourse is a cornerstone of American society, where differing viewpoints can be discussed openly, even when protesters use inflammatory language like ‘F- - k Israel’ or make derogatory remarks."
While many people at Columbia University are exercising their constitutional right to free speech about Israel, the lawsuit points out that there is a subset of protesters who have gone "beyond simply engaging in free speech."
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"This extreme element is not just expressing dissent; they have and are continuing to commit acts of violence, they are intimidating and harassing Jewish students and faculty members, they are inciting demonstrators to engage in hate speech and also commit acts of violence, which has been taking place, and they have even called for terrorist attacks against the United States and the State of Israel," the lawsuit reads. "All of these acts have been calculated to disrupt the normal functioning of Columbia and to overshadow the voices of those engaging in constitutionally protected speech and protest."
The lawsuit then turns to April 18, when a group of extreme demonstrators at Columbia created the "Liberated Zone," an area where over 60 tents were erected.
Protesters along the perimeter of the zone allegedly blocked Jewish students from walking through, as anti-Israel activists used force, harassment and threats of violence.
University officials called for the encampment to be removed, but the protesters refused – instead, it grew.
"Since its formation, 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," the student claimed in the lawsuit.
The class action lawsuit alleges the students underwent both verbal and written forms of hate speech, with massive banners and signs displaying statements like "Death to the Jews," "Long live Hamas," "Globalize the Intifada," "There is only one solution, Intifada revolution," "Hamas we love you, We support your rockets too," and "Red, black, green, white, we support Hamas’ fight."
While Jewish students continue to get attacked, the lawsuit alleges, Columbia has done nothing to curb their behavior.
Even when Columbia University President Minouche Shafik seemed to take a "firm stance" by telling the protesters to vacate the encampment or be removed by police, she later announced she was "negotiating" with the protesters, the lawsuit claims.
The university switched to a hybrid learning model for the rest of the semester, which gives students who do not feel safe attending classes on campus, the ability to watch the class remotely.
"This absurd shift makes no attempt to solve the safety problem on campus, and at the same time, creates two very different educational experiences for Jewish and non-Jewish students," the lawsuit reads. "The vast majority of the student population, including these extreme demonstrators, get to attend class in person, take tests in person, communicate with professors in person, and otherwise take advantage of the campus.
"The Jewish students, on the other hand, get a second-class education where they are relegated to their homes to attend classes virtually, stripped of the opportunity to interact meaningfully with other students and faculty and sit for examinations with their peers," the lawsuit continued.
That, the plaintiff claimed, is segregation of Jewish students, calling it a "dangerous development that can quickly escalate into more severe acts of violence and discrimination."
The student claims the encampment negatively impacted her education when she could not turn in part of her final exam project due to the university not being able to provide safe passage to the building where she needed to hand it in.
Columbia University declined to comment on the lawsuit.
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As such, she filed the lawsuit in order to hold the university accountable for failing to provide a safe educational environment for its students.
The lawsuit is seeking injunctive and equitable relief; compensatory and punitive damages in an amount to be determined during trial; and attorneys’ fees, costs and other litigation expenses, among other things.
