CCSC

Last fall, after four years and two failed attempts to introduce a divestment referendum, Columbia College Student Council approved the proposal by Columbia University Apartheid Divest. This week, Columbia College students will vote on the divisive referendum which calls for divestment of University funds from companies that profit from Israel and the actions of the Israeli government. From September 22 to September 25, the Columbia College student body will be presented with the question: “Should Columbia University divest its stocks, funds, and endowment from companies that profit from or engage in the State of Israel’s acts toward Palestinians that, according to Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD), fall under the United Nations International Convention of the Suppression and Punishment of the Crime of Apartheid?”

We, two Jewish students at Columbia University, lend our full, enthusiastic support to Columbia University Apartheid Divest’s efforts to pass the referendum that urges the University to divest from companies that violate Palestinian human rights. We do not believe that Jewish people have any unique authority to speak out against Palestinian oppression, but we write from a Jewish perspective to address what we perceive as false claims that the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions movement is intrinsically antisemitic. These claims obscure the complexity of Jewish history in service of a political agenda that aims to suppress Palestinian dissent. As Jews, as leftists, and as people who do not support Israel, we emphatically reject this characterization.

Vice President for Campus Services Scott Wright described plans for renovating Columbia spaces to better serve marginalized groups, a vision for designing a student-integrated health center, and affordable summer housing at the Columbia College Student Council meeting Sunday evening.

In an effort to support student groups focused on issues faced by marginalized groups, the Columbia College Student Council announced the introduction of the Identity and Diversity Task Force dedicated to discussing and strategizing on identity-based issues on campus at its weekly meeting this Sunday evening.

First-year candidates for the Columbia College and Engineering Student Councils presented platforms dealing with issues of financial accessibility, student engagement with the council, and community outreach in Harlem.

During a packed last meeting of the semester, the Columbia College Student Council discussed the implementation of procedures to remove ineffective representatives, potential changes to club funding allocation based on measures of inclusivity, and the creation of a Bacchanal Governing Board that would include the undergraduate councils in financial decisions made by the Bacchanal Committee.

When I came to Columbia, I laughed at the students who were campaigning for student council. I thought that we had left the days of try-hard, peppy enthusiasm behind us as we entered this mature world where we focused on studies. Looking at those eager students who vigorously campaigned before we even stepped foot onto campus, I was overcome with schadenfreude and perplexity, wondering out loud, “What did I get myself into?”

Last Thursday, the Columbia Elections Commission notified University Senator-elect Heven Haile, CC ’21, that someone had reported her for publicizing a false endorsement from the Columbia University Mental Health Task Force, an offense that could be ruled as a major rules violation according to election policies.