Columbia University Settles Lawsuit Over Unsafe Environment Amid Campus Protests

Columbia University sat down a lawsuit filed by a Jewish student alleging that the school failed to provide “a safe educational environment” for students during recent pro-Palestinian protests at the school.

The school agreed to take steps, including designating “a specific person to act as a safe passage representative to serve as a designated point of contact for Columbia students with safety concerns as a result of protest activities” and allowing students who do not could “complete key assignments or exams due to campus access restrictions related to on-campus demonstration activity” and wish to “seek an accommodation” to “submit a request for such accommodation to their respective instructors).”

A Columbia spokesperson said in a statement emailed to The Hill that the university is “pleased that we were able to reach a resolution and remain committed to our number one priority: the safety of our campus so that all of our students can successfully pursue their education and achieve their academic goals.”

In the original April complaint, the Jewish student alleged that since the start of a “Gaza Solidarity Camp” on campus, she and other Jewish students have felt an increasing risk of harassment and physical harm.

“The camp has been the center of 24-hour harassment of Jewish students, who have been punched, pushed, spat on, prevented from attending classes and moving freely around campus, and subjected to pro-terrorist hate speech – both verbal. and written on huge banners and posters – with statements like: “Death to the Jews”; “Long live Hamas”; “Globalize the Intifada,” the lawsuit said.

Earlier this year, pro-Palestinian protests broke out on many college campuses across the country, most notably in Columbia. The protests have faced accusations of anti-Semitism, which protesters have rejected, and attracted the attention of several prominent politicians, including figures such as House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and House Oversight Committee Chairman James Eat (R-Ky.).

“Now that we have helped restore basic principles of safety on Columbia’s campus, we are excited to begin real conversations about these issues: grounded in reality and informed by serious reflection,” Jay Edelson, the student’s attorney, said in a statement. Press release.

The Hill has reached out to an attorney for the student for comment.

This article was updated at 9:30 p.m.

This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story