The interim president of Columbia University kicked off the new school year by apologizing to anti-Israel protesters on campus who were “hurt” by the NYPD when they worked to clear the agitators who descended on the campus last year. “I know that this is tricky for me to say, but I do understand that I sit in this job, right. And so if you could just let everybody know who was hurt by that, that I’m just incredibly sorry,” interim university President Katrina Armstrong told student newspaper The Columbia Spectator in her first interview with the outlet since she was named interim president. “And I know it wasn’t me, but I’m really sorry.… I saw it, and I’m really sorry.”Armstrong became interim president of the elite school last month when Minouche Shafik stepped down as president amid ongoing condemnation of her handling of campus protests last year that often turned violent. Agitators and student protesters flooded college campuses nationwide last school year to protest the war in Israel, which also included spiking instances of antisemitism and Jewish students publicly speaking out that they don’t feel safe on some campuses. IVY LEAGUE ANTI-ISRAEL AGITATORS’ PROTESTS SPIRAL INTO ‘ACTUAL TERROR ORGANIZATION,’ PROFESSOR WARNSColumbia’s campus was notably rocked by student and outside agitators demanding the school completely divest from Israel amid the ongoing war in the Middle East. Agitators and pro-Hamas demonstrators stormed the university’s Hamilton Hall at the end of April, occupying the building for nearly 24 hours before members of the NYPD were granted permission by the university to take it back from the protesters. The officers were overwhelmingly dressed in riot gear to carry out the operation, and “used electric saws, stun grenades, and other tactical gear to sweep” the building, according to the student newspaper’s report published Thursday. COLUMBIA RABBI TELLS JEWISH STUDENTS TO LEAVE CAMPUS, WARNS THAT SCHOOL, NYPD ‘CANNOT GUARANTEE YOUR SAFETY’During the widespread campus protests last school year, the NYPD also swept a tent encampment housing the protesters, which was dubbed the “Gaza Solidarity Encampment,” before the university dismantled the encampment in May. NYPD SHARES GLIMPSE INTO RAID REMOVING ANTI-ISRAEL AGITATORS FROM COLUMBIA’S HAMILTON HALLAll in, the NYPD arrested about 200 protesters on Columbia’s campus last school year. “As we face anything, we have to be very committed to the principles, and our principles are our students and are enabling an environment where people can have freedom of expression, and we support debate, and we do those things,” Armstrong said. “We have to be committed to our principles in terms of ensuring that our academic activities can continue. And so I think we have to be very clear about that, because that’s the commitment I made to our students and to our professors.”STEFANIK ACCUSES COLUMBIA PRESIDENT OF ‘PRO-TERRORIST’ PROFESSOR ‘COVER-UP,’ WARNS OF POTENTIAL FELONYMembers of the Jewish community on campus ripped Armstrong’s apology in comments to the New York Post.”Why is she apologizing? An apology sends the message that there shouldn’t be consequences for breaking the rules,” Ari Shrage, cofounder of the Columbia Jewish Alumni Association, told the New York Post, calling the remarks “tone deaf.” “This is exactly the opposite of what Columbia needs now.””Instead of apologizing to the antisemitic protesters, [Armstrong] should be apologizing to the Jewish students for failing to protect them from relentless discrimination and harassment,” student Maya Cukierman, 19, told the outlet. HILLARY CLINTON CONDEMNS ANTI-ISRAEL CAMPUS PROTESTS, SAYS ‘OUTSIDE’ GROUPS INFLUENCED STUDENTS: ‘NASTY’Columbia Law School graduate Rory Lancman added that Armstrong kicking off the new school year by apologizing is an “ominous sign for Columbia’s dwindling cohort of Jewish students.” Columbia University officials told the New York Post when asked about Armstrong’s interview apologizing to those “hurt” by the NYPD that the interim chief “remains committed to ensuring everyone at the university feels safe and respected as we rebuild and heal this year.” “Dr. Armstrong gave a wide-ranging interview with the student newspaper that in part focused on the impact of the past year, and just as she has done while speaking to many groups across our campus, she recognized their pain and reiterated how sorry she is to all students who are hurting,” a spokesperson told the outlet. Fox News Digital reached out to Columbia Sunday for additional comment, but did not immediately receive a reply.
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Publish date : 2024-09-22 20:27:17
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Columbia’s interim president apologizes to protesters who occupied campus for ‘hurt’ caused by NYPD
