Columbia University President Minouche Shafik resigns months after Israel-Hamas war protests roiled campus
NBCAug 17
Columbia University President Resigns Over Gaza Protests
Above: Minouche Shafik testifies before Congress on April 17, 2024. Image copyright: Alex Wong/Staff/Getty Images News via Getty Images
The Facts
Columbia University president Minouche Shafik resigned Wednesday, citing the "considerable toll" on her and her family after she received sustained criticism — in addition to "threats and abuse" — for her handling of the Gaza protests that broke out on campus.
Shafik, the third Ivy League president to step down over the protests, was criticized by pro-Israel and pro-Palestine factions alike. On the one hand, for allegedly failing to protect Jewish students, and on the other hand, for allowing officers from the New York Police Department (NYPD) to enter the campus in order to break up the student encampments, leading to hundreds of arrests.
The Spin
Narrative A
Shafik fell short of her responsibilities as president of Columbia, particularly in failing to protect Jewish students and stop the spread of antisemitism on campus. Among her sins was saying that a slogan that calls for the extermination of Jews was not a breach of university policy. She had to be replaced.
Narrative B
After Shafik allowed the NYPD on campus — leading to dozens of arrests, as well as many students getting bloodied and battered — she thanked the police for their "professionalism." This was a betrayal of her students that rendered her position at the university unsustainable. She had to go.