“An American, a Jew, a Liberal, a Zionist” has been the Instagram bio of Jacob Schmeltz, CC ’24, since high school. He said that since middle school, he considered his foremost identity to be a “liberal political activist.” Raised with the Jewish value of tikkun olam, which he described as “repairing the world through social justice,” Schmeltz said his New Jersey synagogue emphasized political activism, and he has worked to “amplify voices of marginalized communities.”

Amid accusations of chilling on-campus speech and expression, Barnard has once again found itself under national scrutiny after an administrator in the Community Accountability, Response, and Emergency Services department allegedly told officers to ask students to remove their hijabs in order to enter school grounds.

Eden Yadegar, GS/JTS ’25, president of the Columbia chapter of Students Supporting Israel, spoke on Thursday at a congressional roundtable about on-campus antisemitism organized by the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.

When Aharon Dardik, GS ’26, first watched the pro-Palestinian and pro-Israel movements on campus following Oct. 7, he said he felt his views were not being represented.

The Law School senate voted to officially recognize Law School Students Against Antisemitism as a campus organization on Feb. 11, after initially denying official recognition on Jan. 23. The organization was the only one to be denied out of nine organizations that requested recognition from the senate this academic year.

Mackenzie “Macky” Forrest, SSW ’24, filed a lawsuit on Monday against Columbia under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, alleging that the University “violated federal and state antidiscrimination laws that prohibit discrimination and retaliation against Jewish persons.”