After NYPD Raid, Columbia Law Students Push for Pass/Fail Grades Amidst Distress

The student leaders of Columbia Law Review want administrators to cancel the law school’s exams and pass all of its students after officers pushed out an anti-Israel encampment last week, alleging in a letter that the police action left the student body “irrevocably shaken.”

The letter, written just after the NYPD disassembled protesters’ tent city and expelled them from nearby Hamilton Hall on Tuesday night, also suggested that the school allow students to obtain a basic pass/fail grade because they are so unhappy. “The violence we witnessed last night has irrevocably shaken many of us on the Review,” the editors said in a letter published by Above The Law.

“We know this is true for the majority of our classmates,” the editors continued.

“Videos have leaked showing police officers dressed in riot gear taunting and brutalizing our pupils. The events of last night have left us and many of our colleagues unable to focus and extremely upset during this turbulent time.” The letter added that the incident came after “growing distress” students had felt for months “as the humanitarian crisis abroad continues to unfold, and as blatant antisemitism, Islamophobia, and racism on campus have escalated.”

“We believe that canceling exams would be a proportionate response to the level of distress our peers have been feeling,” the editors wrote in a statement.

“In the alternative, making courses mandatory pass/fail would be the next most equitable solution.” The Manhattan Ivy demonstrations are among dozens of college protests nationwide in which students have attempted to take over buildings, construct encampments, and disrupt courses in protest of Israel’s attack in Gaza.

Many students have demanded that such universities reconsider their interests in Israel or cease doing business with the beleaguered country entirely. Since April 17, there have been 2,400 arrests at 46 universities countrywide.

In the letter, the editors stated that the school management has “refused to consider our calls for making all classes this semester mandatory pass/fail,” despite the fact that three-quarters of its students favor it.

“We recognize our position as a student-run academic journal that simply cannot function if our students are not well,” stated the letter, which was signed by five other law journals at the university. “Many are unwell at this time, and cannot study or concentrate while their peers are being hauled to jail.”

On Sunday, a law school representative would only confirm that exams started Thursday following a one-day delay and “will be administered through the conclusion of the exam period.” Hundreds of cops invaded the Ivy League school’s Morningside Heights campus at 9 p.m. Tuesday after they were finally given permission to sweep up the pro-Palestine encampment, which had been disrupting campus life for weeks.

Officers also apprehended renegade rioters who had taken control of historic Hamilton Hall, which had its windows shattered, furnishings trashed, and entrances barricaded during the occupation. Afterward, the university expressed sadness at having to rely on New York’s Finest to clear up the mess.

“After the University learned overnight that Hamilton Hall had been occupied, vandalized, and blockaded, we were left with no choice,” a spokesperson for the administration said.

“Columbia public safety professionals were forced to leave the facility, and a member of our facility staff received threats. We will not endanger our community’s safety or the possibility of future escalation.” In total, officials arrested approximately 100 demonstrators. Even as officers trampled the tent city beneath their feet, some students expressed concerns about their safety.

“I’m concerned for my fellow students here because a lot of them have never experienced this disconcerting mob mentality,” junior Drake Harding-Paul told the Post. “I don’t feel safe on campus.”

“I think the response last night was long overdue,” he went on. “I do think it should have happened a long time ago.”