I was walking to lab on a Friday afternoon earlier this year when I encountered Minouche Shafik walking towards me. As she approached, I considered a myriad of possible things I could say, ranging from critical questions about her decisions as president of Columbia University to just an invitation to casual conversation. I settled on a warm “Hello Minouche”, and continued walking.
Since that encounter, I have been in constant debate on whether I could have used that opportunity to engage in deliberate discourse. I could have asked her about the bureaucratic governing boards that seem to vanquish her free will as president. I could have asked her about Columbia’s role in the war in Gaza, and why her discussion of the events there are defined exclusively by the words “conflict”, “tension”, and “crisis”. I could have asked her if she thought she would ever order the New York Police Department to arrest over 100 students for exercising their right to peaceful protest. 

The last time police were authorized to enter campus and remove protestors was 1968, when rallies against the administration's plans for a private gym facility in Morningside Park quickly ballooned into a broad revolt over the university's military research ties in Vietnam, lack of democratic governance, and indifference to student voices. For many students of color, the protests represented an outlet for frustrations over the university's detachment from the local community and complicity in systems of oppression, with the police crackdown deepening divides and generational wounds around racial and social injustice. For a tense week, classes ground to a halt as students staged their uprising, attracting national media attention. Then, as negotiation efforts faltered, the stalemate dramatically ended when over 1,000 NYPD officers stormed campus, arresting over 700, and resulting in more than 148 reports of injuries, reinforcing negative experiences many POC students had with law enforcement.

As the Columbia community once again navigates fierce protests, we draw shocking parallels between the actions of administration in 1968 and those taken today. Campus is once again defined by the deafening sounds of news choppers, police sirens, and student solidarity. Hamilton Hall is occupied by students, protests rage on all throughout Morningside Heights, and tensions escalate as demands for change grow louder. As dissension between representatives of the student encampment and university administration continue, heightened police presence threatens the safety of Columbia students and of surrounding communities.

This police presence has a direct impact on all students, most visibly minorities. A close friend told me about how they were subjected to NYPD searches through their bags, as officers claimed individuals needed to submit to examination of personal belongings and occasional pat-downs to enter campus—even if they were a Columbia student. These searches resulted in confiscation of personal possessions, things like clothes, school materials, and accessories that had been arbitrarily deemed a “risk to campus safety”. Another peer warned me of similar incidents, and to be particularly careful as NYPD was specifically profiling black, brown, and muslim students. The calamity on campus has gone as far as a friend informing me that two drones were at their window at night, shining lights into their dorm room in an apparent effort to monitor student activity. 

On the nights following the initial arrests, I spoke directly with detained individuals recounting horrific police misconduct. Close friends and colleagues attested that the NYPD forced female detainees to undress in front of male officers, all of which were wearing body cams. Not only is this an egregious rights violation and abuse of power by law enforcement, it also has the potential to inflict severe emotional and mental harm on affected individuals. This incident is especially troubling when considering the fact that many of these detainees were muslim women, for whom such an invasive and public disrobing could constitute a profound violation of their religious and cultural values around modesty. 

Minouche Shafik's decision to escalate police presence on campus to monitor student protests is intensely problematic and completely disregards the wellbeing of Columbia's diverse student body. By allowing the NYPD an overwhelming enforcement role, she has invited civil rights violations and intimidation tactics that disproportionately target and make vulnerable minority populations like Black, Brown, and Muslim students.

Columbia has long prided itself on cultivating a diverse student body that enriches the academic experience through an amalgam of perspectives and backgrounds. However, that prized diversity is under grave threat if egregious acts of discrimination and civil rights abuses are left unaddressed. The psychological wounds inflicted on students of color by dehumanizing practices like invasive searches, racial profiling, and the disrobing of students will reverberate for generations. How can Columbia's outreach convince underrepresented minorities to enter its ranks when such visceral violations of dignity have occurred?

The university's reputation as an equitable learning environment hangs in the balance. Only through substantive accountability measures, concrete policy reforms, and concerted efforts to rebuild trust in marginalized communities can the school begin to rectify these injustices. Otherwise, Columbia risks irreparably damaging its ability to convene the diverse perspectives and lived experiences that are critical to any premier academic institution.

Works Cited

Adler, Margot. “1968 Columbia Protests Still Stir Passion.” NPR, NPR, 23 Apr. 2008, www.npr.org/2008/04/23/89884026/1968-columbia-protests-still-stir-passion. 

Bingham, Clara. “‘The Whole World Is Watching’: An Oral History of the 1968 Columbia Uprising.” Vanity Fair, Condé Nas, 26 Mar. 2018, www.vanityfair.com/news/2018/03/the-students-behind-the-1968-columbia-uprising. 

“1968: Columbia in Crisis.” Columbia University Libraries Online Exhibitions | 1968: Columbia in Crisis, Columbia University, Mar. 2018, exhibitions.library.columbia.edu/exhibits/show/1968/protests/strike.