On Wednesday, Columbia University received a subpoena from the House Committee on Education and the Workforce. The university was reprimanded for not submitting required documents related to how it dealt with allegations of anti-Semitism. The notice of subpoena was given to Katrina Armstrong, who is currently serving as Columbia’s interim president.
The documents demanded include all communications among senior officials, including the school’s past president, Minouche Shafik, regarding instances of anti-Semitism on campus, and also records of meetings held by the board of trustees. This legal demand follows several months of back-and-forth communications about the scope of the committee’s document requests, which are part of an investigation into the treatment of Jewish students at Columbia.
Virginia Foxx, a Republican from North Carolina and the chair of the House Committee, criticized the university in a press statement for delaying the handover of important documents. She emphasized the goal of the committee’s inquiry is the safety and protection of Jewish students and faculty members, affirming that compulsory actions will be taken if necessary to acquire the needed documents. Columbia has been given a deadline until September 4 to respond to the subpoena.
A spokesperson from Columbia stated the university’s dedication to fighting anti-Semitism and all discrimination forms, noting that they have already submitted thousands of documents to the committee over the past seven months amid ongoing requests. The university expresses its continued intention to cooperate with the investigation.
This subpoena aims to reveal details concerning disciplinary actions taken by Columbia, especially in relation to the students who were arrested during a building occupation incident in April. Despite initial assertions of severe consequences, only a minor fraction of those involved have faced disciplinary actions. This discrepancy is partly attributed to the objections from Columbia’s faculty senate against expediting the disciplinary process.
The departure of Minouche Shafik, the erstwhile president of Columbia, was influenced by faculty opposition following her decision to involve the New York City police to vacate Hamilton Hall, leading to her resignation after a vote of no confidence in May.
Columbia University is not alone in facing such congressional scrutiny for its handling of anti-Semitism allegations; a similar subpoena was issued to Harvard University and its officials, including Penny Pritzker of the Harvard Corporation, in February for similar reasons.
