I was one of the students who received Columbia President Claire Shipman’s “personal” apology email. Of course this is a publicity stunt, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that she was a good president until this past week when she bestowed University Professorship upon someone who apparently participated in the encampment. This news broke around the same time that we heard about Shipman trying to oust the Jewish board member. It’s deeply troubling, but also from a year ago and therefore clearly intended to sow anger before a potential deal with the government. So there are two forces here at play: the Right that wants to destroy Columbia and prevent a deal and the Left that wants to destroy Columbia and prevent a deal. Shocker that they’re actually just different versions of the same thing? What matters most is a deal with the government that ensures federal funding while coercing Columbia into systemic change to combat antisemitism. Both funding for research and combatting antisemitism are things that any reasonable person should be pushing for. To that end, what matters is whether or not President Shipman can deliver. Her behavior during the Butler takeover was quite commendable. Her recent action with the Professorship less so. What we need is a deal, asap. When things change concretely — the University Senate, for example — then the president’s decisions will matter much less. When fighting systemic antisemitism, we have to focus on the system, not the people perpetuating it. For what it’s worth, I liked her a lot when I met her. But if Malcolm Gladwell’s Talking to Strangers taught me anything, it’s to ignore my gut.
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