Columbia University condemns vandalism at COO’s residence amidst anti-Israel protests
Anti-Israel activists vandalized the home of Columbia University’s COO, Cas Holloway, to protest the university’s handling of pro-Palestine protests, leaving behind paint, crickets, and a threatening note.
A group of pro-Palestine individuals broke into the apartment of Columbia University’s Chief Operating Officer, Cas Holloway, and vandalized Holloway’s home in order to make a statement about Columbia’s reaction to the pro-Palestine protests.
The intruders sprayed and splattered paint, left behind live crickets, and left a threatening note before they left, according to The New York Post.
“Did you enjoy our present? Did it make you uncomfortable?” the protestors’ note asked. “What you felt was incomparable to the pain you made Columbia students feel when you signed off on their brutalization because they stood against the genocide of Palestinians.”
Neighbors expressed doubt that the protestors’ acts of destruction were accomplishing anything.
“They are protesting all these institutional investments in Israel — that’s what they say it is,” one neighbor said about the vandalism. “It’s not helping the situation.”
“It’s good to try and help people, but I don’t see this helps anyone,” another added. “If you ask a Palestinian in Palestine, will they say this helped? I don’t think so.”
On Aug. 8, the Columbia University administration released a statement condemning the vandalism and stating that behavior of its nature has no place at Columbia University.
“Early today,” Ben Chang, Columbia spokesperson, acknowledged, “a group of individuals vandalized the apartment building of Columbia University Chief Operating Officer Cas Holloway. Let us be clear: Acts like these are an affront to our values. We condemn them unequivocally.”
Chang continued to state that the university would report any further vandalism to law enforcement and would itself discipline any students who are caught vandalizing.
[RELATED: Columbia deans who made fun of concerns about anti-Semitism resign]
“Anyone engaging in this kind of behavior will be reported to law enforcement and face the appropriate discipline,” Chang wrote in the statement. “We regret that Cas and his neighbors had to endure this vile attack. Every member of our community deserves to feel safe and supported.”
Campus Reform reported in July about another act of vandalism that plagued Barnard University, which is affiliated with Columbia.
