Columbia to let students take finals from home as Hamas militants remain in charge of campus
Columbia University has required a remote option for upcoming final exams as students continue an anti-Israel occupation of a section of campus.
Columbia University has required a remote option for upcoming final exams as students continue an anti-Israel occupation of a section of campus.
According to the Columbia Spectator, Columbia University Provost Angela Olinto wrote in an email that all final exams on the university’s Morningside campus “must include a remote option for students who have requested support for virtual assessment.”
“Safety is our highest priority as we strive to support our students’ learning and all the required academic operations,” Olinto wrote in the email on Wednesday.
The report also stated that students in the School of Engineering and Applied Science, Columbia College, and the School of General Studies can pass/D/fail one major, concentration, or Core course while still fulfilling the course requirement.
Typically, according to the report, students can pass/D/fail one course that isn’t required per semester.
CNN reported that protesters in the Columbia occupation area were handed a letter on Monday morning that states students inside the encampment would be placed on interim suspension if they don’t leave by 2 p.m. Monday and would be to additional disciplinary actions. Students can avoid suspension and any other disciplinary action by signing a form and handing it into Columbia employees while leaving the encampment.
The letter to students inside the encampment comes after Shafik wrote in a Monday morning statement that talks between university representatives and protest leaders have broken down.
”To that end, since Wednesday, a small group of academic leaders has been in constructive dialogue with student organizers to find a path that would result in the dismantling of the encampment and adherence to University policies going forward. Regretfully, we were not able to come to an agreement,” wrote Shafik.
Shafik also pleaded with protesters to leave campus so the university can hold a graduation ceremony.
”We also do not want to deprive thousands of students and their families and friends of a graduation celebration,” she wrote. “Please recall that many in this graduating class did not get a celebration when graduating from high school because of the pandemic, and many of them are the first in their families to earn a University degree. We owe it to all of our graduates and their loved ones to honor their achievement. We want to reassure our community who are trying to make plans that we will indeed hold a Commencement.”
While the Columbia president didn’t outline actions she may take if protesters don’t leave, she wrote “We are consulting with a broader group in our community to explore alternative internal options to end this crisis as soon as possible.”
