Columbia University: Calls for Genocide Violate University Policies

On December 7, 2023, in the wake of congressional testimony by the presidents of Penn, Harvard, and MIT that calls for genocide of Jewish people would in certain contexts not violate the universities’ policies, Columbia University announced that such calls violate its policies and that the policies prohibit language “that promotes or supports violence in any manner.” On December 15, FIRE wrote Columbia urging it to stand by its commitment to student expression because the vagueness of making ‘calls for genocide’ prohibited speech will mean members of the campus community cannot know what speech is punishable.