Columbia University leaders are considering adding police officers with arrest authority and other powers not currently available to campus security personnel, according to a new report.
The school confirmed it was seeking to improve the training of its public safety department and also expand its authority while relying less on the New York Police Department after anti-Semitic agitators spent weeks camping on the lawn of a school before breaking into a nearby building and barricading themselves inside as they demanded that Israel halt its counteroffensive against the Hamas terror group in Gaza.
Administrators are seeking to control disruptions as the university prepares for the imminent start of the fall semester. That expansion could add designated peace officers to the university's security team, the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday.
WHERE IS SHAFIK? COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY PRESIDENT KEEPS A LOW PROFILE AND STRUGGLES TO KEEP HIS JOB AMID ANTISEMITISM ON CAMPUS
Anti-Israel rioters block the entrance to Hamilton Hall at Columbia University in New York City on April 30, 2024. (AP/Marco Postigo Storel)
“President [Minouche] “Shafik and the university leadership team take their responsibility for the safety and well-being of the entire university community very seriously,” a university spokesperson told Fox News Digital. “The university has been using the summer to both learn from the lessons of the past academic year and plan for the next.”
The school faced criticism from Jewish students and others who argued that leaders did not do enough to confront the rioters, who set up camp in a garden and were accused of starting anti-Semitic clashes. On the other hand, some faculty members defended the group and even prevented other students and members of the press from entering their camp.
A masked figure breaks a window to enter Hamilton Hall at Columbia University in New York City on April 30, 2024. (Alex Kent/Getty Images)
“Through a process of internal consultation and learning with other higher education institutions, we are preparing for a variety of scenarios that may arise, with a focus on being able to maintain the university's academic and research operations,” the spokesperson said.
“As part of this consultation process, we are looking at a variety of ways to supplement our public safety capabilities. We are looking to strengthen the department's skills and training in de-escalation techniques, expanding the department's ability to manage a variety of incidents, taking into account the fact that Columbia does not have its own police force, like many similar institutions, and potentially reducing our reliance on the NYPD.”
Masked rioters barricade themselves inside Hamilton Hall at Columbia University in New York City on April 30, 2024. (Alex Kent/Getty Images)
President Johnson Denounces Anti-Semitism on Campus as Anti-Israel Protesters at Columbia Bored Him
Shafik called on the New York Police Department to intervene after weeks of anti-Semitic demonstrations on campus that led to rioters occupying a university building, Hamilton Hall, and blocking its doors, prompting criticism from those who support anti-Israel groups.
The decision to have police remove the rioters prompted the campus chapter of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP), a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., to call for a vote of no confidence in Shafik and other Columbia administration officials, including the entire board of trustees.
No injuries were reported when the New York Police Department regained control of Hamilton Hall from the occupiers, but the AAUP described the operations as a “horrific police attack” and said it had received reports of violence against protesters, including one person being knocked unconscious.
A small but influential group of professors has also opposed stricter rules for campus protests, the Journal reported. Under current policies, security guards are not allowed to lay hands on students.
An anti-Israel protester holds a flag on the rooftop of Hamilton Hall at Columbia University in New York City on April 30, 2024. (Yuki Iwamura/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“There is no middle ground: either we do nothing and let the protesters do whatever they want, or we call the NYPD,” James Applegate, a professor and member of the university's senate, told the newspaper.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams, a former captain in the New York Police Department, sharply criticized the “despicable” academic environment that he said fostered the behavior. Authorities later revealed that nearly half of the people arrested inside the building were not Columbia students.
Anti-Israel students at Columbia University set up camp on the school's West Lawn. (Michael Ruiz/Fox News Digital)
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Last month, the university also fired three senior staff accused of sharing anti-Semitic text messages.
The anti-Semitic climate led some of the university's billionaire donors to publicly question their financial support of the school.
Nemat Minouche Shafik, president of Columbia University (Fox News Digital)
Supporters of Students for Justice in Palestine, one of the groups organizing the nationwide demonstrations against Israel, insist they are holding peaceful protests.
However, several Columbia students who said they were authorized to speak on behalf of the group declined to discuss their activities with Fox News Digital.
