Columbia University, considered the epicenter of the pro-Palestinian anti-war protests sweeping American universities, passed a no-confidence motion against President Nemat Minouche Shafik. Axios and others reported on the 16th that a resolution of no confidence in President Shafik was passed in a faculty vote at Columbia University’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences.
Of the 709 people, including Columbia University humanities professors, who participated in the vote, 65% were in favor of the no-confidence motion, with only 29% voting against. 6% abstained. Previously, the Columbia University branch of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) proposed a resolution of no confidence in President Shafik, claiming that he had violated the basic requirements of academic freedom and violated students’ rights in an unprecedented manner.
The Times reported that although this no-confidence resolution itself is not binding, the fact that he received a no-confidence vote less than a year after taking office shows how level the criticism surrounding his response to the campus protests is. At a U.S. House of Representatives Education Committee hearing on the 17th of last month, President Shafik pledged, “We will not allow anti-Semitism to take root,” and then attempted to disperse the protesters by mobilizing the police.
In response to Shafiq’s request to suppress the protesters, the New York Police (NYPD) entered the campus twice, and more than 200 students were arrested. Afterwards, Columbia University suffered hardships, including canceling its graduation ceremony.