Interim President of Columbia University The new school year began with an apology to anti-Israel protesters on campus who were “hurt” by the NYPD when they worked to remove protesters who broke into the campus last year.
“I know this is hard for me to say, but I understand that I’m sitting in this job. And so if you could tell everybody who was hurt by this, I’m deeply saddened,” interim university president Katrina Armstrong told the student newspaper. Columbia Spectator In his first interview with the outlet since being named interim president, he said, “And I know it wasn’t me, but I’m really sorry. … I saw it, and I’m really sorry.”
Armstrong became the elite school’s interim president last month after Minouche Shafiq stepped down amid condemnation of her handling of last year’s campus protests that often turned violent.
The past academic year saw activists and student protesters against the war in Israel demonstrate on college campuses across the country, with anti-Semitic incidents also rising and Jewish students publicly saying they did not feel safe on some campuses.
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New York Police Department officers detain dozens of pro-Palestinian students at Columbia University after they barricaded themselves in the Hamilton Hall building on April 30, 2024. (Selcuk Aker/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Columbia’s campus is notably The school was rocked by students and outside protestors demanding the school’s complete separation from Israel amid the ongoing war in the Middle East.
This undated photo provided by Columbia University on August 16, 2024 shows Interim President Katrina Armstrong. (Jorge Meyer Photography/Columbia University via AP)
After agitators and pro-Hamas demonstrators stormed the university’s Hamilton Hall in late April, occupying the building for about 24 hours, members of the NYPD were given permission by the university to retake it from protesters. Officers were dressed in riot gear to carry out the operation, and “used power saws, stun grenades and other tactical equipment” to clear the building, according to a student newspaper report published Thursday.
Student protesters camp on the campus of Columbia University in New York on April 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, Pool, File)
During widespread protests on campus last school year, the NYPD also destroyed a tent camp of protesters, dubbed the “Gaza Solidarity Camp,” before the university dismantled the camp in May.
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In total, the NYPD arrested nearly 200 protesters on Columbia’s campus last school year.
New York police detain dozens of pro-Palestinian students at Columbia University in New York on April 30, 2024. (Selcuk Aker/Anadolu via Getty Images)
“When we face anything, we have to be very committed to principles, and our principles are our students and creating an environment where people have freedom of expression, and we support debate, and we do that,” Armstrong said“We have to be committed to our principles to ensure that our academic activities continue. And so I think we need to be very clear about that, because that’s the commitment I made to my students and to my professors.”
A protester is removed from Columbia University’s Hamilton Hall in New York on April 30, 2024. (Selcuk Aker/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Members of the Jewish community on campus criticized Armstrong’s apology in comments provided to the New York Post.
“Why is she apologizing? Apologizing sends the message that there should be no punishment for breaking the rules,” Ari Schrage, co-founder of the Columbia Jewish Alumni Association, told the New York Post. He called the comments “absurd.” “It’s completely contrary to what Columbia needs right now.”
Anti-Israel protesters gather on the campus of Columbia University on April 29, 2024. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
“Instead of apologizing Anti-Semitic protesters“(Armstrong) should apologize for failing to protect Jewish students from continued discrimination and harassment,” said Maya Cukierman, a 19-year-old student.
Rory Lancman, a Columbia Law School graduate, said Armstrong’s decision to begin the new school year with an apology “is an ominous sign for Columbia’s dwindling Jewish student body.”
Columbia University officials told the New York Post When asked about Armstrong’s interview, in which he apologized to those “hurt” by the NYPD, he said the interim chief is “committed to making everyone at the university feel safe and respected as we rebuild and improve this year.”
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“Dr. Armstrong gave an extensive interview to the student newspaper in which she focused on the impact of the past year, and, as she has done when speaking to many groups on our campus, she recognized their pain and reiterated how sorry she is to all of the students who have been hurt,” a spokesperson told the outlet.
Fox News Digital reached out to Columbia Sunday for additional comment but did not immediately receive a reply.
