It's a challenging time at Columbia -- from the unlawful detainment of Mahmoud Khalil SIPA'24 to recent decisions by Columbia's central administration in response to the Trump administration’s malicious interference in our university affairs.
As a group of faculty, researchers, staff, and students at Columbia who center justice in our work, we will always defend freedom of speech, freedom to protest, and academic freedom on our campus and beyond. As Dr. King wrote from his Birmingham jail cell, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” In that spirit, we remain steadfastly committed to advancing environmental and climate justice for all. We also remain committed to the protection of our community who tirelessly advocate for these values. In this period of great turmoil, uncertainty, and efforts to roll back some of the founding aspirations around justice that are part of our evolving constitution and country, we urge you to stay strong and connected with us as we continue to make the world a place where there is indeed justice and freedom for all- with clean air, water and soil and a livable climate system.
We urge our peers at other universities to come together and defend these shared values, and higher education at large. We will be watching for opportunities to engage as a community and stakeholders in university processes and any other means of collective or bespoke action and will keep you informed as these opportunities become apparent.
