Statements advocating for violence or harm are antithetical to the core principles upon which this institution was founded. This has seemed so fundamental that it did not require saying; to hear such things in our community is an aberration, whether or not protected by the First Amendment. We must be clear: calls for violence have no place at this or any university.
As educators and stewards of a university community committed to intellectual freedom and moral integrity, we stand together on this foundational matter. As university leaders, we represent our values and model the non-violent norms that anchor our mission.
We aspire to be an open campus but cannot be open while we are uncertain of safety. The trade-offs, between the safety of our students, faculty, and staff and the ideal of a campus porous to the city, are real. This week, with social media mixing calls for armed violence in the Middle East with defenses of local statements calling for violence, the balance tips to safety.
As leaders of Columbia University, we stand against any calls for violence.
Interim President Armstrong, Provost Olinto, and the Executive Committee of the University Senate
