What’s happening: Members of Congress are demanding that Columbia University President Nemat Shafik resign amid pro-Hamas demonstrations on campus.
Radical protests: Demonstrators blocked a Jewish professor from Columbia’s campus, praised Hamas, and told Jewish students that Oct. 7 will “be every day” for them, among other threats. Protests continued despite dozens of students being arrested or suspended, and classes were moved online for the rest of the semester.
In the hot seat: House Republicans feel Shafik hasn’t responded strongly enough to antisemitic incidents. They pressured her during a recent hearing to fire professors with a history of pro-Hamas statements, which she indicated she would do.
Why it matters: Republicans are more comfortable leveraging political power against campus radicalism in the wake of the Israel-Hamas war — an aggressive shift which could change their approach toward contentious issues in higher education, such as the rise of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) material.
Federal probes: The House opened investigations into antisemitism at six elite schools in recent months.