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 > Left Wing Madness blends with Spectacular Stupidity; Surprising Results from Stupid Study

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Left Wing Madness blends with Spectacular Stupidity

Jeff Charles, Olive Garden's Favorite Person

@JeffOnTheRight

BREAKING: Progressive groups call for national boycott of Olive Garden after Italy elects "fascist" Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.

"Pizza and pasta are now symbols of worldwide white supremacy," they wrote. "We must stand against any establishment serving this fascist food."

Safe-sex study delivers surprising result

Young people who were texted about safe sex ended up catching diseases

through sex more than those who weren’t, research indicates

A man poses holding a selection of condoms. ©  AFP / Leon Neal

Sending text messages encouraging safe-sex behavior to young people who have recently experienced a sexually transmitted infection (STI) is unable to prevent them from getting reinfected, a British study has found out.

The effectiveness of the Safetxt project, which is aimed at reducing reinfections of chlamydia and gonorrhea, has been tested by researchers from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

They published the results of the study, which involved more than 3,000 people aged between 16 and 24, in the medical magazine BMJ on Wednesday.

The participants were separated into two groups, with one of them being sent frequent messages from Safetxt and the other not getting any texts at all.

The researchers found out that 22.2% of those who had received the texts became reinfected with chlamydia or gonorrhea, compared to just 20.3% among those who hadn’t.

“The Safetxt intervention did not reduce chlamydia and gonorrhea reinfections at one year in people aged 16-24 years. More reinfections occurred in the Safetxt group,” the paper acknowledged.

The authors said that their findings “highlight the need for rigorous evaluation of health communication interventions.”

They also advised the World Health Organization (WHO) that recommends the use of such messaging to “revise its endorsement of digital behavior change communication for strengthening health systems, to specify which topics and content WHO endorses.”

This shows how far out-of-touch are the experts at the WHO and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Maybe they should talk to some young people occasionally.

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Muslim 'Instant Divorce' Unconstitutional, India's Supreme Court Rules

By Ed Adamczyk  

Muslim women in Mumbai protest the practice of "instant divorce" or "triple talaq" by which a Muslim man can divorce

his wife by announcing it three times. India's Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that the practice is unconstitutional.

Photo by Divyakant Solang/EPA

UPI -- India's Supreme Court declared the "instant divorce" practice among the nation's Muslim population to be unconstitutional Tuesday after decades of campaigns by women's groups.

The court, by a 3-2 vote, struck down the legality of a divorce by which a Muslim man can formally dissolve his marriage to his Muslim wife by simply repeating "talaq," or "divorce," three times.

The "triple talaq" process typically leaves the wife with no alimony or other compensation. 

A survey in India, conducted in 2015 by the Muslim women's activist group Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan, indicated that one in 11 Muslim women were subjected to the triple talaq.

Some Muslim clerics have also recognized instant divorces if the word "talaq" is texted or emailed to the wife, The Guardian reported Tuesday.

The court determined that the practice is discriminatory to women. The ruling noted that the triple talaq was "not integral to religious practice, and violates constitutional morality," and thus is not fundamental to Islam and does not have constitutional protection.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who supported the petition to the court, said the ruling "grants equality to Muslim women and is a powerful measure for women empowerment."

The court did not rule on other forms of divorce within Muslim law, where reconciliation is possible. The verdict only concerns "instant divorce," in which there is no counseling or compromise.

The "triple talaq" practice has already been banned in Pakistan, Bangladesh and much of the rest of the Muslim world.

"It's a very happy day for us. It's a historic day," Zakia Soman, co-founder of Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan, said. "We, the Muslim women, are entitled to justice from the courts as well as the legislature."

Woman Sentenced to 2.5 Years in Jail for Text Messages Urging Boyfriend to Kill Himself

© Glenn C. Silva / Global Look Press

A Massachusetts woman who texted her boyfriend with relentless insistence that he kill himself, is to spend at least 15 months behind bars after he ended his life inhaling carbon monoxide through a portable water pump he let into in his car.

Juvenile Court Judge Lawrence Moniz in Bristol County ruled Thursday that Michelle Carter, 20, serve two and a half years in jail, but stated only 15 months will be mandatory. Moniz previously ruled in June that Carter was guilty of involuntary manslaughter for telling her boyfriend Conrad Roy III, to kill himself. Roy committed suicide at the age of 18 in July 2014.

Carter’s lawyer, Joseph P. Cataldo, successfully petitioned to have the sentence stayed, which means Carter will not go to jail until her state appeals are exhausted. The judge ordered that Carter remain free on bail for now, but that she have no contact with the Roy family.

If Carter’s sentence isn’t overturned on appeal, it will begin on August 22, 2022, when she will serve at least the mandatory 15 months, according to Buzzfeed.

Carter was 17 years old at the time when Roy was discovered dead in his Ford F-150 pickup truck in a parking lot near Boston.

One of Carter’s more straightforward text messages to Roy urging him to end his life was used as evidence in the case.

"You can't think about it. You just have to do it. You said you were gonna do it. Like I don't get why you aren't," she wrote, NBC News reported.

Carter tried to tell Roy in another text message how much better it would be if he committed suicide. "You’re finally going to be happy in heaven. No more pain. It’s okay to be scared and it’s normal. I mean, you’re about to die," according to NBC News.

During a 47-minute call with Carter shortly before his death, Roy exited his truck because the carbon monoxide was “working and he got scared.” Carter “told him to get back in,” during the call, according to court documents. It was this specifically, Moniz said, that led him to find Carter guilty.

Moniz continued with his reasoning for the guilty verdict. He elaborated that Carter became responsible when she told Roy to re-enter the vehicle because she knew the man was entering into "a toxic environment inconsistent with human life," NBC News reported.

Further, Moniz said Carter did not contact Roy’s family when she knew his location before his death, and had a responsibility to do something to stop a life-threatening risk.

Written statements from family members of both parties involved in the case were delivered to the judge outlining how they felt about Carter.

"I don’t believe she can be helped. I don’t believe she could even give one single **** about what she’s done," Roy’s aunt, Kim Bozzi said in a written statement to Moniz on Thursday. "I believe she should be kept far away from society,”according to NBC News.

Carter’s father pleaded with the judge to understand that Carter was a troubled teenager at the time and wanted a lenient sentence for the woman.

"I pray to God you will take into consideration that Michelle was a troubled, vulnerable teenager in an extremely difficult situation and made a tragic mistake," David Carter wrote in a statement to Moniz. "I am 100% sure she was only trying to do what in her mind what was right for Conrad," NBC News reported.

The defense argued that Carter was not of sound mind when she perpetrated the acts against Roy. They stated the teen was on the drug Celexa at the time of the suicide. Celexa is prescribed to treat depression that can have side effects, including irrational thinking, irritability and poor impulse control.

Prosecutors argued that days before Roy took his life, Carter went through with a “dry run,” telling classmates that Roy was “missing” even though she was in contact with him throughout those days.

“She begins to get the attention she craved for,” assistant district attorney Maryclare Flynn said of Carter’s messages to her classmates, according to NBC News.

Months after Roy’s death, Carter began to panic when authorities set out to investigate the suicide and she realized the police would read her texts. “I just got off the phone with Conrad’s mom, and she told me … [police] have to go through his phone and see if anyone encouraged him to do it on texts and stuff. Sam, they read my messages with him I'm done. His family will hate me and I can go to jail,” Carter wrote to a friend in a message.