On April 18, Minouche Shafik, the president of Columbia, violated university procedures and authorized the NYPD to arrest dozens of Columbia students, including members of Student Workers of Columbia (SWC-UAW 2710). The students were protesting the university’s “continued financial investment in corporations that profit from Israeli apartheid, genocide, and military occupation of Palestine.” During the next few days, the police arrested well over 100 students; all have been suspended from Columbia.
Actions in solidarity with the Columbia students have been taking place at universities and colleges all over the country.
The union’s petition points out that the “right to protest is necessary for every struggle, and the direct attack on this right is an attack on labor as well.”
The petition further states, “As workers, we stand in solidarity with our union siblings in SWC-UAW 2710 who were arrested and face suspension. We call for their and their classmates’ immediate reinstatement and for Columbia to drop all charges against them, both legal and academic. We deplore President Shafik’s actions and call for Columbia to immediately end the repression of protest.”
Read and sign the petition at:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScHA6XY8_B40zxf8Mbhys2fXYQKMUkBJ9sPKtLn6MNqUGMuww/viewform
