Columbia University Settles Lawsuit With Jewish Student Over Unsafe Environment

University agrees to provide ‘walking escorts’ and designate a ‘Safe Passage Liaison’ as part of settlement

Columbia University on Tuesday settled a lawsuit with a Jewish student who said the school had failed to provide a safe environment by turning a blind eye to anti-Semitism on campus.

In late April, the unnamed student said that their education had been disrupted by a hostile environment on campus after anti-Israel protesters set up a “Gaza Solidarity” encampment, disrupting normal campus operations for nearly two weeks. Blatant anti-Semitism and praise for terrorists were recurring features of the encampment. Columbia president Minouche Shafik was ultimately forced to call in law enforcement after student protesters seized a university building.

Under the settlement Columbia agreed to “provide walking escorts across campus, 24 hours per day, and 7 days per week” through at least the end of the year. The Ivy League school will also appoint a “Safe Passage Liaison” to “serve as the designated point of contact for Columbia students with safety concerns as a result of protest activity on campus,” and coordinate the response to student requests for escorts.

Meanwhile, students affected by the disruptive campus protests who were unable to complete key assignments or finish their exams will be allowed to seek necessary accommodations.

“This settlement sets the bar for how Columbia must protect its students,” the student’s attorney Jay Edelson told Reuters. “The next step for the Columbia community is just as important: We’re looking toward a return to a real debate on campus.”

The settlement comes as student protesters at Columbia promised a “summer of disruption” on Monday after erecting a third unauthorized encampment over the weekend. While the encampment only lasted three days and two nights, the school’s Students for Justice in Palestine chapter outlined its plans for “student intifada” on social media and committed to “continue strategic, targeted attacks on all aspects of university life.”

Tuesday’s lawsuit is the first of its kind to reach a settlement as Columbia faces multiple other suits from Jewish students over rampant campus anti-Semitism.