Antisemitism in Academia > 3 Columbia U. deans fired for childish, antisemitic texts

 

3 Columbia University deans resign after

‘antisemitic tropes’ texts scandal: report

By 

Katherine Donlevy    

Published Aug. 8, 2024  Updated Aug. 8, 2024, 6:27 p.m. ET 

Three Columbia University deans who exchanged “very troubling” texts that “disturbingly touched on ancient antisemitic tropes” are resigning from the elite school, officials said Thursday.

Susan Chang-Kim, Matthew Patashnick and Cristen Kromm — who were permanently removed from their administrative roles last month — will no longer serve at the Ivy League university, a Columbia spokesperson confirmed to The Post.

When the trio submitted their resignations is unclear. Columbia University would not provide additional details surrounding the sudden news, which was first reported by The New York Times.

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Susan Chang-Kim, Columbia College’s vice dean and chief administrative officer, was among the university brass placed on leave in the wake of the exchange.

Columbia University

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Matthew Pataschnick, Columbia’s associate dean for student and family support, accused a speaker at a campus antisemitism panel of exploiting the event for its “fundraising potential.”

Columbia College

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Cristen Kromm, dean of undergraduate student life, sent queasy and vomiting face emojis in the group chat with fellow university leaders in reference to an op-ed written by the campus rabbi decrying the rise of antisemitic sentiment on campus.

Columbia University

Neither Chang-Kim, Patashnick nor Kromm responded to The Post’s request for comment.

The trio was put on indefinite leave in June after it was revealed they were embroiled in a disparaging and sarcastic text chain that unfolded during a panel discussion the month prior about antisemitism on campus stoked by Israel’s war against Hamas.

The thread — which included vomit emojis and accused Jewish students of asserting “privilege” — came to light when pictures an attendee snapped of one of the deans’ phones were circulated by The Washington Free Beacon.

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Columbia’s campus has been a hotbed of anti-Israel demonstrations since the Jewish state began its retaliatory strike against Hamas after the Oct. 7 terror attack.

Getty Images

“This incident revealed behavior and sentiments that were not only unprofessional, but also, disturbingly touched on ancient antisemitic tropes,” Columbia President Minouche Shafik said in a statement last month.

“Whether intended as such or not, these sentiments are unacceptable and deeply upsetting, conveying a lack of seriousness about the concerns and the experiences of members of our Jewish community that is antithetical to our university’s values and the standards we must uphold in our community.”

It seems Shafik's attitude has improved considerably since Jewish donors have begun withdrawing financial support.

Antisemitism controversy at Columbia University: Key events

• More than 280 anti-Israel demonstrators were cuffed at Columbia and the City of New York campuses overnight in a “massive” NYPD operation.
• One hundred and nine people were nabbed at the Ivy League campus after cops responded to Columbia’s request to help oust a destructive mob that had illegally taken over the Hamilton Hall academic building late Tuesday, NYC Mayor Eric Adams and police said.
• Hizzoner blamed the on-campus chaos on insurgents who have a “history of escalating situations and trying to create chaos” instead of protesting peacefully.
• Columbia’s embattled president Minouche Shafik, who has faced mounting calls to resign for not cracking down sooner, issued a statement Wednesday saying the on-campus violence had “pushed the university to the brink.”
• Columbia University president Minouche Shafik was accused of “gross negligence” while testifying before Congress. Shafik refused to say if the phrase “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” is antisemitic.
• More than 100 Columbia professors signed a letter defending students who support the “military action” by Hamas.

Another dean, Josef Sorett, was also involved in the exchange but was allowed to remain in his post after issuing a public apology.

His profile was still listed on the university’s staff directory Thursday, while Chang-Kim, Patashnick and Kromm’s were deleted.

Before their public suspensions, Chang-Kim served as the college’s vice dean and chief administrative officer; Patashnick as the associate dean for student and family support and Kromm as the dean of undergraduate student life.

None were considered faculty members and did not have tenured protections, The Times reported.

Shortly before the trio was permanently removed from their administrative roles last month, more than 2,000 students, alumni and parents signed a petition calling on the school to remove the involved deans.

“This incident exposes a profound issue at Columbia that cannot be dismissed. Failure to address this quickly can only be interpreted as a lack of seriousness and urgency in dealing with campus antisemitism within Columbia’s administration,” the petition stated.

The resignations come as Columbia continues to grapple with protests tied to the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.

Early Thursday, pro-Palestine vandals drew hateful inverted triangle symbols, splattered red paint — and unleashed live crickets and mealworms — across a top Columbia University executive’s Brooklyn apartment building.

No suspects were immediately identified in the incident.

Bits and Bites from Around the World > "You'll shoot your eye out with that thing!"

 

British Columbia man suffers eye injury 

after setting off shotgun shell with knife

27-year-old man uses knife to poke at pile of shotgun shells, ends up in hospital with minor injuries

Mission City Record Staffa day ago

A 27-year-old man suffered an eye injury on Sunday night (June 23) after setting off a shotgun shell with a knife near Mission.

According to a Mission RCMP news release, the man and his friend discovered a pile of shotgun shells while camping off a forest service road. The man used his knife to poke at one of the shells, activating the primer and setting it off. 

The man suffered minor injuries to his face from shrapnel and attended Mission Memorial Hospital for treatment. 

"This is an important reminder that ammunition can be dangerous even if not loaded into a gun, and safe handling practices should also be used. Also, anyone discharging firearms in the backcountry is reminded to do so lawfully and safely, and to clean up all spent and unspent shell casings before leaving," Mission RCMP said. 

Police were also called to Farms Road in Hatzic the previous night (June 22) for reports of a group shooting guns. 

RCMP chatted with a group of men from Surrey, Abbotsford, Coquitlam and Langley about the dangers of shooting in the area and advised them it was a no-shooting zone. 

Mounties encourage potential firearm users to review the No Shooting Areas with the Fraser Valley Regional District.

Troubling Issues as Radio Host Fired for Not Towing PC Line on Transgenderism

Canada has turned hard-left in the past few years creating disturbing issues we've never seen before

Winnipeg Radio host Dave Wheeler fired following controversial comments about transgender people

Sarah Petz · CBC News 

Dave Wheeler has been fired as host of 92 CITI FM’s Wheeler in the Morning, in light of controversy over comments he made about transgender people. (@Wheelerj28/Twitter)

Rogers Media says it has fired 92.1 CITI FM radio host Dave Wheeler following controversial comments about transgender people that he made on his Winnipeg program Wheeler in the Morning this week. 

Rogers Media spokesperson Andrea Goldstein confirmed the firing in an emailed statement Wednesday morning. "There have been multiple disciplinary incidents, and in spite of numerous conversations, he has continued to offend our audiences," Goldstein wrote. "As a result, we have ended our relationship with him and he is no longer with the company, effective immediately."

The decision was made yesterday. Wheeler has not responded to multiple requests for comment. 

Wheeler made the comments during a conversation on the program about Scarlett Johansson withdrawing from the upcoming film Rub and Tug. The American actor was facing backlash after she was cast to play a trans man.

In the conversation, Wheeler made a remark comparing transgender people to actors who "pretend to be different things." He reiterated the sentiment in a Facebook Messenger conversation with a woman who reached out to him regarding the commentary. The woman shared images of their conversation online.

The images show these words from Wheeler: "If someone is born human. And they pretend to be a dog. It is not right to agree with them for the sake of their feelings."

Unfortunately, we don't have the context in which these remarks were made. Did he make an emphatic statement? Did he use the statement in the form of a question? If he did, is it not a valid question? If it is a valid question and he got fired for asking it, then someone has truly gone off the deep end and it is not necessarily Wheeler.

Seriously, if you look down in the shower at your male genitalia and decide you are a woman, how can you possibly expect someone else to respect that decision. Such a person needs help. They have a condition called 'Gender Dysphoria', it's a mental illness that is treatable.

The woman who made the Facebook Messenger remarks public has done far more damage than Wheeler, if indeed, there was damage done. She was the only one with access to his remark, but by making it public she commits the very indiscretion she accuses Wheeler of.

The comments follow another incident in 2016, when Wheeler was suspended following his involvement in a pair of YouTube videos that critics called racist and sexist.

Advertisers pull out 

The decision comes in light of a handful of businesses announcing they would be pulling their ads from 92.1 CITI FM in light of Wheeler's comments. They include the Gates on Roblin, which wrote on its Facebook page that it was "absolutely disgusted" by the comments. 

Santa Lucia Pizza and Kal Tire also said on social media that they would not be advertising with the station as a result. KAL Tire's vice-president of marketing Greg Waring said the company felt compelled to not advertise with CITI after hearing the comments about the trans community, and did not want to be associated with them "in any form whatsoever." 

"We serve a diverse group of customers and we hire diverse team members and we're proud of that in every respect. So we just think our values need to represent that respect for diversity at all levels," Waring said.

'Profound impact' of comments 

Many transgender people face oppression everyday, so such comments, especially from a well known media personality, can be extremely alienating and detrimental to their mental health, he said. 

"I'm not talking about they're going to have a bad day or they're going to be pissed off. I'm talking death, I'm talking suicide. That is what those type of comments lead to," he said. 

Do we actually have documentation linking such comments to suicide? I understand people don't like to be criticized, or have their very validity questioned. And yet, if they suicide because of remarks like Wheeler's, it is because they themselves are questioning their own validity. They will come to that point at some time in their lives regardless of what someone else says. Harassment and abuse certainly contributes to a high suicide rate among trans people, but even without such negative treatment, there would still be a high suicide rate. 

"And people need to understand, when you make those type of comments, that is where it's no longer an opinion. When you are making those type of comments where you can affect someone's life to the point where they're just likely to end it, you have now entered into the territory of oppressive speech."

I question whether such a discussion as Wheeler had qualifies as harassment. If the statement he made can drive someone to suicide, they must be extremely vulnerable to suicide. Is it harassment that makes them so vulnerable, or is it the mental illness associated with gender dysphoria?

I suggest that the LGBTQ lobby is as much responsible for the astonishingly high suicide rate among trans people as those who question them. Their near hysterical campaign to shut down anyone who questions them, and their pressure on governments and media to accept gender dysphoric people as 'normal', has probably prevented many trans people from seeking the psychological help they so desperately need. 

When 'truth' becomes oppressive, then we are in serious trouble as a society.

Concern over backlash

He says he thinks Rogers made the right move, but is now worried people in the LGBTQ community may face backlash, particularly against those who spoke out. 

Cynthia Fortlage, a trans woman living in Winnipeg who appeared on CITI FM Tuesday, said she had mixed feelings about Wheeler being fired. 

She said she wanted to educate the former radio host about issues facing trans women rather than punish him. 

"I would rather make an ally than an enemy," she said, adding that she was also worried about potential backlash against people in the trans community. 

"And that's even more dangerous than one could even imagine if you're not living it day to day." 

There is no justification for abusive behaviour toward gay or transgender people under any circumstance. God has given us all freedom to choose what path we want to take in this lifetime and those who choose one path have no right to condemn or abuse those who choose another, unless that choice directly brings harm to other people. I'm talking about pedophiles, rapists, criminals of all sorts. Most gays and trans people bring harm only to themselves. 

It is the duty of Christians to inform them of the risk to their ultimate destiny that their lifestyle implies. It is a Christian's duty to 'love' gays and trans people and to pray for them. It is a Christian's duty to be kind to everyone which is very difficult when the truth (arguably the most important duty of a Christian) seems unkind. God gives no-one the right to bully, beat or abuse those who are not walking with Him. Those who do such things will themselves stand in judgment.