Student editors at the Columbia Law Review are urging the school to cancel final exams after anti-Israel protests and New York Police Department arrests have left the campus fractured.
Columbia University has been at the forefront of the nationwide campus pro-Palestinian protests. The editors are asking the law school to cancel final exams and effectively give all students passing grades for the semester of work.
“In the alternative, it is our view that the Law School at the very least observes the community’s overwhelming call for mandatory Pass/Fail during this horrific time for our campus,” the letter said.
The letter said canceling final exams would be a “proportionate” response to the “level of distress our peers have been feeling.”
“The violence we witnessed last night has irrevocably shaken many of us on the Review. We know thi to be the same for many of our classmates. Videos have circulated of police clad in riot gear mocking and brutalizing our students. The events of last night left us, and many of our peers, unable to focus and highly emotion during this tumultuous time,” the statement read.
The letter was co-signed by five other law journals at the school: the Columbia Science and Technology Law Review, Columbia Journal of Race and Law, Columbia Journal of European Law, Columbia Human Rights Law Review & a Jailhouse Lawyer’s Manual, and Columbia Journal of Law & Social Problems.
Only one library on campus remains open with limited hours during exam season. Final exams begin Friday and run through May 10. Commencement is scheduled for May 15 and is still expected to take place.
Tuesday, some protesters broke into Hamilton Hall, an administrative building, by breaking windows and barricaded themselves inside. More than 100 arrests were made and the encampments at Columbia were effectively cleared out by Wednesday.
Columbia University President Minouche Shafik released a statement acknowledging the hardships the Columbia community has faced in recent weeks.
“I know I speak for many members of our community in saying that this turn of events has filled me with deep sadness. I am sorry we reached this point,” a statement from Shafik said following the NYPD on campus.
“It is going to take time to heal, but I know we can do that together. I hope that we can use the weeks ahead to restore calm, allow students to complete their academic work, and honor their achievements at Commencement,” the statement continued.
The statement said many students will not be able to perform to their best ability this exam season due to events that have taken place on campus.
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“The current exam policy raises concerns around equity and academic integrity. Many are unwell at this time and cannot study or concentrate while their peers are being hauled to jail,” the law journal’s letter read.
Columbia Law School did not respond to the Washington Examiner’s request for comment on if it was considering canceling final exams.