Inadequate safety measures could be partly to blame for the death of 18-year-old Barnard College student Tessa Majors, who was accosted and stabbed to death on December 11, 2019, while she was walking through New York City&#8217;s Morningside Park.
According to a report from <a href="https://www.thecut.com/2020/02/tessa-majors-barnard-student-death.html">The Cut</a>, the teen fought her attackers and, after being brutally stabbed, made her way up and out of the park where she was eventually found unconscious by a campus security guard. Katherine Franke, a professor of law at Columbia Law School, said Majors died &#8220;just feet away&#8221; from <a href="https://barnard.edu/boldly-barnard/columbia-university">University of Columbia</a> President Lee Bollinger’s &#8220;doorstep,&#8221; a <a href="https://www.columbiaspectator.com/opinion/2019/12/16/repairing-our-community-after-tessa-majors-death/">Columbia Spectator</a> op-ed published December 16 notes.
Four months before Majors was murdered, the college upended their public safety system, hiring &#8220;diversity&#8221; and &#8220;equity&#8221; personnel to quell student unrest over an allegedly <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2019/04/14/video-shows-black-columbia-student-pinned-by-campus-police-after-failing-show-his-id/">racially-charged incident</a> with a minority student and campus police in April. Additional reports have emphasized reported calls to increase security around the park and inform students of its dangers, both areas where the University of Columbia and its affiliate Barnard College took questionable action, or inaction.
Two teens, one 13 years old and the other 14, have been <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/14-year-old-arrested-and-charged-in-tessa-majors-murder-investigation">arrested</a> in connection with the brutal crime.
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Tessa Majors stabbing suspect arrested as officials cite DNA, blood, smartphone and video evidence
The Manhattan DA spoke of the &quot;gruesome picture &#8230; in her final moments,” citing Majors&#39; cries for help, and how she struggled up the staircase, on video.<a href="https://t.co/7g2bbhiifR">https://t.co/7g2bbhiifR</a>
&mdash; New York Daily News (@NYDailyNews) <a href="https://twitter.com/NYDailyNews/status/1228766079389982720?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 15, 2020</a></blockquote>
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On August 15, Barnard College President Sian Leah Beilock sent <a href="https://barnard.edu/news/investigation-involving-barnard-public-safety">communication</a> to the Barnard community announcing new changes to the school safety system. For example, University of Dayton&#8217;s former Equity and Compliance Officer Amy Zavadil was named Barnard College&#8217;s new interim Executive Director of Public Safety and Emergency Management. According to Zavadil&#8217;s <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/amy-zavadil-16029a6">Linkedin account</a>, she still serves in that capacity.
&#8220;Ms. Zavadil holds a Ph.D. in Counselor Education and Supervision and most recently served as University of Dayton’s Equity Compliance Officer,&#8221; Beilock boasted of the new school safety leadership. &#8220;She knows the Barnard community, having served as Associate Dean for Equity from 2011 to 2017.&#8221;
&#8220;Zavadil will help us make necessary improvements to the Public Safety Department, address important issues related to culture and inclusion, and implement the recommendations of the report,&#8221; the school president promised.
Additionally, Beilock said that the Barnard Community Safety Group created last spring is now &#8220;chaired by Ariana González Stokas, Vice President for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, and Molree Williams-Lendor, Executive Director of Equity,&#8221; noting that the group would look into &#8220;nondiscrimination&#8221; and diversity issues on campus.
The group &#8220;will work closely with Ms. Zavadil to review current policies (making sure they are transparent and equitably enforced) and help in Barnard’s assessment of campus openness and security more broadly,&#8221; the president outlined.
&#8220;I am also asking this Group to assess the climate regarding perceptions and experiences of biased treatment and to recommend additional actions we can take to uphold our policy of nondiscrimination,&#8221; added Beilock.
The incident that sparked the Barnard College safety changes in mid-August involved Columbia University senior Alexander McNab, a 23-year-old African-American male.
According to a <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2019/04/14/video-shows-black-columbia-student-pinned-by-campus-police-after-failing-show-his-id/">Washington Post</a> report in April, McNab encountered public safety officers &#8220;on his quest to find free food&#8221; on campus. While seemingly attempting to confirm that McNab was a student, a disagreement about his student ID triggered officers to &#8220;pin&#8221; McNab to a countertop.
&#8220;The incident, filmed by two witnesses, inspired a weekend of unrest on the New York City campuses,&#8221; the Post outlined, &#8220;where administrators have released statements and held listening sessions and students have called attention to what some consider a chronic problem within the public safety department.&#8221;
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&#8220;Barnard has issued multiple statements and hired an independent investigator,&#8221; the outlet added at the time. &#8220;The officers involved, who do not carry guns, have been placed on paid administrative leave.&#8221;
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Professor Franke, writing in her December op-ed, claimed &#8220;Columbia did very little to combat&#8221; the uptick in crime in Morningside Park.
&#8220;I used to walk through that park every day to and from work. About a year and a half ago, I started taking another route to work after noticing more drug-related activity and groups of young kids following me,&#8221; she outlined. &#8220;Earlier this year, there were <a href="https://www.westsiderag.com/2019/05/08/sucker-punch-attacks-in-morningside-park-have-neighborhood-on-edge?fbclid=IwAR1AM0bojIAvRYNdnE2bEPZQ2LBfDhXr98gBkDsONJ6A-ZW7Rkx1H7GpHms">reports</a> of increased muggings and robberies in the park, often alleged to have been committed by 12- and 15-year-old kids.&#8221;
&#8220;Despite the increase in violence in Morningside Park, Columbia did very little to combat it,&#8221; wrote Franker. &#8220;The University <a href="https://gothamist.com/news/students-say-barnard-and-columbia-failed-warn-them-about-rising-crime-morningside-park">did not notify</a> the Columbia community of the incidents so that new students like Tessa would be on alert. Community groups addressing these safety concerns told me they weren’t contacted by the University.&#8221;
&#8220;Columbia just kept Public Safety officers in a booth at the top of the park,&#8221; she noted, &#8220;and they faced west toward the campus, not east toward the park.&#8221;
According to a report from <a href="https://gothamist.com/news/morningside-park-tessa-majors-harlem-columbia">Gothamist</a> published on February 12, &#8220;the western cliffside, which hugs the border of Columbia&#8217;s campus, is notoriously secluded.&#8221;
The president of Friends of Morningside Park, Brad Taylor, &#8220;said he had over the years repeatedly talked about the need for someone, be it a police or parks officer or one of Columbia&#8217;s security guards, to regularly patrol the park&#8217;s upper path, where the stabbing occurred,&#8221; the report said. &#8220;Visibility worsens in the spring and summer because of trees and shrubs. Taylor had asked if it was possible to cut them down but said he got nowhere. <a style="font-style: italic;" href="https://twitter.com/DPodolsky_/status/1205338365761069056?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Poor or broken lighting</a> has also been a perennial problem.&#8221;
Read Beilock&#8217;s <a href="https://barnard.edu/news/investigation-involving-barnard-public-safety">full letter</a> below:
<blockquote>Dear Barnard Community,
I am writing with an update on the external investigation into the confrontation that took place on April 11, 2019, between Barnard Public Safety officers and a black Columbia University student. This altercation was deeply concerning to us. To better understand how it could have occurred, the College hired an independent investigative firm to look into the specific incident, how it started and then escalated. I wanted to share the findings as soon as I received them and to also make clear that this investigation represents just one aspect of our broader efforts to improve community safety and to ensure that all who visit, study, live, and work on our campus feel welcome and safe. As I know it is summer, you can expect another update shortly after the start of fall classes.
I have heard from many in our community who expressed an urgent need for the College to take the necessary steps to address any racial and other forms of bias and inequitable enforcement of campus policies. I am committed to being part of that change and to working with all of you to create a campus culture that respects and appreciates diversity and ensures that everyone is treated equitably. As an institution focused on academic excellence, we cannot achieve our scholarly goals without a diverse and inclusive community. Campus security is an important part of this work, but it doesn’t stop there, extending to all aspects of campus life both inside and outside the classroom.
The external investigation was initiated on April 23, 2019, and has now concluded. (<a class="file file--mime-application-pdf file--application-pdf" href="https://barnard.edu/sites/default/files/inline-files/tm-barnard-report-080119.pdf" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="062f66c4-5c4a-415a-8761-54a8f8246949">Here</a> you can find the full investigation report, details about the process, and a list of <a class="file file--mime-application-pdf file--application-pdf" href="https://barnard.edu/sites/default/files/inline-files/campus-safety-faqs.pdf" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="ff870d47-abd5-4410-aeea-d693fe2be078">Campus Safety FAQs</a>.) The investigators reported on community perceptions of racial bias. They also cited flawed policies and training that may lead to biased enforcement. As detailed in the investigation report, Barnard Public Safety includes officers who are dedicated to their mission and who succeed in keeping our campus safe from crime. However, the investigators found that Public Safety’s response in this incident was not consistent with best practices and served to intensify the confrontation, rather than de-escalate it. The report also makes clear that a lack of updated, written policies and procedures and clear guidelines for Public Safety officers contributed to the severity of the confrontation. Without the very best in training, each officer responds to events differently and — as noted in the report — creates a “perception, if not a reality, of disparate treatment of individuals with whom [Public Safety] interacts on campus.” These are systemic failures that affect everyone involved: the officers and the community members they interact with.
The investigators’ findings demand serious attention, and we are acting promptly to make needed changes in the operations of Barnard Public Safety. As a first step, we are changing leadership of Barnard Public Safety. While we conduct a national search for a new Executive Director of Public Safety and Emergency Management, I am grateful to Amy Zavadil, who will serve in this role on an interim basis. Ms. Zavadil holds a Ph.D. in Counselor Education and Supervision and most recently served as University of Dayton’s Equity Compliance Officer. She knows the Barnard community, having served as Associate Dean for Equity from 2011 to 2017. As Interim Executive Director, Ms. Zavadil will help us make necessary improvements to the Public Safety Department, address important issues related to culture and inclusion, and implement the recommendations of the report. One recommendation, training in de-escalation tactics for all current and incoming Public Safety personnel, began this summer.
Second, in an effort to effectively communicate our safety policies, our <a href="https://barnard.edu/public-safety/policies/after-hours-campus-access-policies">11 p.m. entry policy</a> now appears on signage across campus at all entrance gates and on the Public Safety section of the website and will continue to be included in the <a href="https://barnard.edu/publicsafety/annual-security-and-fire-safety-report">Annual Security and Fire Safety Report</a>, which can be found online and is shared with all students, faculty, and staff at the beginning of each academic year. Many in the Barnard community report that this policy has been enforced inconsistently in the past, and we commit to addressing that immediately. These modifications are only the beginning stages of Barnard’s efforts to ensure the consistent application of our policies and procedures and equitable treatment for all members of our community and guests to our campus.
Third, as I wrote to you about previously, we created the <a href="https://barnard.edu/our-campus-community/community-safety/community-safety-group">Barnard Community Safety Group</a> last spring to increase transparency and community engagement with safety on campus. Now chaired by Ariana González Stokas, Vice President for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, and Molree Williams-Lendor, Executive Director of Equity, this Group will work closely with Ms. Zavadil to review current policies (making sure they are transparent and equitably enforced) and help in Barnard’s assessment of campus openness and security more broadly. I am also asking this Group to assess the climate regarding perceptions and experiences of biased treatment and to recommend additional actions we can take to uphold our policy of nondiscrimination. You can find more information on the Group <a href="https://barnard.edu/our-campus-community/community-safety/community-safety-group">here</a> and can expect an update on their planned work shortly after the start of fall classes.
What we witnessed in videos of the April 11 confrontation was deeply troubling and antithetical to Barnard’s mission. Racial and other forms of bias — though often systematic and institutionalized — are unacceptable in our community. I am grateful to all in the Barnard community who have shared their personal concerns, experiences, and suggestions to help us continue to build a campus community that values each individual and treats every person equitably. The honest conversations and exchange of ideas have not always been easy, but they are vital to strengthening our ability to create a culture that is genuinely respectful and embraces and learns from our differences. I look forward to doing this important work together.
Sincerely,
Sian Leah Beilock 
President</blockquote>

Candlelight vigil held for Tessa Majors

Months Before Tessa Majors Stabbing, School Safety Was Upended By Diversity Officers Over ‘Racial’ Incident; Officials Warned About Improper Park Security 

Barnard College

Columbia University

Tessa Majors

Columbia University continues to deny students accused of sexual assault their due process rights, going out of their way to ignore exculpatory evidence in order to find accused men responsible no matter how thin the allegations.
The latest example is Ben Feibleman, who is using his real name to fight the allegations against him, made by a woman who, as usual, gets to keep her anonymity and is only referred to as Jane Doe in court documents. The Daily Caller’s Betsy Rothstein recently published <a href="https://dailycaller.com/2020/01/23/columbia-university-guilty-ben-feibleman-voice-recordings/">an exclusive interview</a> with Feibleman regarding the $25 million lawsuit he filed against the university last May. I encourage you to read her full story (warning: language and graphic depictions of sex), which includes a complete transcript of the 30-minute audio recording Feibleman made of the woman when he started to suspect things might go wrong.
Columbia’s adjudicators ignored the audio recording Feibleman made and scoffed at his allegations that he was the one who was sexually assaulted. The adjudicators, according to Rothstein, told them there was “insufficient evidence” that he was assaulted (despite the audio recording) and that even if he had been assaulted, he would have liked it, therefore, Jane was “not responsible” for any alleged assault. Columbia found Feibleman responsible and retroactively expelled him and revoked his diploma (he had been allowed to graduate during the investigation).
Jane and Feibleman knew each other a little from their journalism classes. After an event (which Feibleman says wasn’t the sort of place to get wasted), Jane allegedly asked him to put his head on her lap.
“She later sneaked kisses when her friends weren’t looking. She poured beer down his throat during a drinking game. Then she asked him to walk with her to the roof, where she climbed atop the water tower and beckoned him. She took off her top while he unclasped her bra,” Rothstein reported.
The two engaged in some sexual activity and she allegedly insulted him for not wanting to go near the edge of the water tower. He said she performed a “perfect backward roll off the side of the water tower,” taunted him for being afraid of heights even though he was a Marine, and they continued to flirt and engage in sexually charged activities.
His audio recording of her taped her continuously begging him for sex – a total of 29 admissions. He told her repeatedly he wanted to but thought she was too drunk (he didn’t, but said he used that as a “nuclear option” to get out of the situation). She said she wanted rough sex and allegedly pulled his pants down and tried to “force her mouth on his penis.”
When he’d try to leave, she’d cry. If he declined to have sex with her, she’d say he thought she was “gross.” When he tried to leave again, she wouldn’t let him.
Throughout the tape he declined to have sex with her even though she begged. After he was finally able to leave, she allegedly told her roommate that “Ben tried to have sex with me.” She also told this to her boyfriend who questioned her level of intoxication. The next morning she told Columbia Feibleman sexually assaulted her.
The school refused to ask her questions about his side of the story or even use the evidence he provided.
“At one point, they warned him not to utter a word about a medical report he obtained that addressed her level of capacity based on 700 photographs and the 30-minute recording,” Rothstein reported. “According to his legal complaint, a witness ‘Jane Doe’ called to support her in Columbia’s case against him later called Feibleman and told him that she sometimes mixed pills and alcohol to get over a boyfriend. If he mentioned the report, Columbia authorities said they’d throw him out of the hearing and proceed without him.”
Feibleman is now suing Columbia with the help of attorney Kimberly Lau. Columbia is trying to get Feibleman’s military service records in what Lau says is a fishing expedition, while at the same time refusing to provide Feibleman with relevant documents related to his accusation.
He was found responsible for the sexual activity that occurred before the recording, even though he provided evidence to show Jane wasn’t incapacitated at the time. His case is yet another example of a university doing everything it can to find a male responsible because in today’s #MeToo age, males are expendable while a woman claiming to be a victim must be believed.

Woman with condom

She Begged Him For Sex And Then Accused Him Of Sexual Assault. Columbia Expelled Him Despite Audio Proving His Side.

Education

Sexual Assault

A Columbia University student identified as Julian von Abele sparked mass outrage after bragging about Europeans building the modern world and expressing his love for white men in a now-viral video clip. In an email to undergraduate students, Columbia denounced the &#8220;racially charged&#8221; incident and confirmed that they had launched an investigation into the matter.
Von Abele has since reacted to the backlash via Twitter, refuting the accusations of racism and hatred and explaining the context of the video. &#8220;Nobody has explained what I said that was actually negative or racist, or insulting towards anybody else,&#8221; he wrote, adding, &#8220;I was theatrically and sarcastically demonstrating that whites are not allowed to embrace their cultural achievements.&#8221;
&#8220;As everyone who has known me my whole life knows, I am a kind person and I don&#8217;t hate anyone, certainly not for their race or ethnicity,&#8221; he said.
At the opening of the video, von Abele tells a group of students that Europeans &#8220;invented the modern world.&#8221;
&#8220;We invented science and industry and you want to tell us to stop because oh my God, we&#8217;re so bad. We saved billions of people from starvation. We built modern civilization,&#8221; he says.
&#8220;Oh, my God,&#8221; one of the students gasps. &#8220;What about slavery?&#8221; shouts another.
&#8220;White people are the best thing ever. I love myself and I love my people,&#8221; von Abele declares in response. &#8220;F*** yeah, white people! We&#8217;re white people. We did everything. I don&#8217;t hate other people, I just love myself. I just love white men.&#8221;
One Columbia student posted the video to Twitter, tagging the university, and writing the caption, &#8220;Twitter, do your thing.&#8221; A #ColumbiaWhiteExcellence hashtag was included.
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Disappointed, but not surprised. Twitter, do your thing<a href="https://twitter.com/Columbia?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Columbia</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/CC_Columbia?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CC_Columbia</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ColumbiaWhiteExcellence?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ColumbiaWhiteExcellence</a> <a href="https://t.co/UCcyv4aII5">pic.twitter.com/UCcyv4aII5</a>
&#8212; Aala (@aalanasir) <a href="https://twitter.com/aalanasir/status/1071689527943720960?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 9, 2018</a></blockquote>
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The Columbia Daily Spectator accused von Abele of &#8220;harassing&#8221; students of color and &#8220;spewing racist, white supremacist rhetoric.&#8221;
&#8220;A group of primarily black Columbia underclassmen were harassed outside Butler Library around 4 a.m. Sunday morning,&#8221; the Spectator stated. &#8220;Julian von Abele, CC &#8217;21, followed the students from outside Butler to JJ&#8217;s Place, where he continued to berate them with racist and white supremacist comments in an incident that was captured on video by students and has since gone viral on social media.&#8221;
At least one student called for the administration to take &#8220;further action.&#8221;
&#8220;I really hope that Columbia takes further action. They should definitely try to talk to the students that were affected by that and ensure everyone&#8217;s okay because that&#8217;s really hard to internalize,&#8221; said Kwolanne Felix, a Columbia freshman.
University Senator Alfredo Dominguez argued that allowing free speech on campus essentially sparked the encounter. &#8220;You can have arguments all you want about free speech and people being entitled to say what they want,&#8221; Dominguez told the Spectator. &#8220;But when that bubbles [into] assaulting black or brown people with that and then stalking them &#8230; you&#8217;re getting into levels of hate crime and your speech being directly related to violence.&#8221;
The Black Student Organization and the Student Organization of Latinxs claimed von Abele &#8220;physically grabbed another student during this encounter and asked them if black women like to date white men,&#8221; the Spectator reports.
The video does not show von Abele assaulting anyone, though at least one of the other students touches von Abele&#8217;s chest and face.
&#8220;We write to you to unequivocally denounce a deeply disturbing racially charged incident involving Columbia undergraduates that took place in front of Butler Library and JJ&#8217;s Place early this morning,&#8221; <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://thegrio.com/2018/12/11/white-columbia-university-student-goes-on-racist-rant-against-black-students-in-viral-video/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1544808754516000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFy9K9phLvnuyaI-5vHAk2PrSbjdg" href="https://thegrio.com/2018/12/11/white-columbia-university-student-goes-on-racist-rant-against-black-students-in-viral-video/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">reads</a> a statement from the university&#8217;s administration, addressed to undergrads. &#8220;Many of you have heard about or seen the alarming footage online, which includes painful language directed toward students of color in our community.&#8221;
The statement adds, &#8220;This incident is already under investigation by the Office of Student Conduct and Community Standards, and we want to assure you that it will be investigated thoroughly, beginning with interviews of witnesses.&#8221;
The incident triggered numerous headlines in the mainstream media:
<ul>
<li><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/national/article222942335.html&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1544808754516000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEAecHbsCftHXZDFvTKyacnPhSJ2g" href="https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/national/article222942335.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Miami Herald</a>: &#8220;Video of Columbia College student&#8217;s racist speech in New York&#8221;</li>
<li><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://nypost.com/2018/12/10/white-columbia-university-student-goes-on-racist-tirade/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1544808754516000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGSeqOrJCTNWJf5VrK0H3YetAuPXw" href="https://nypost.com/2018/12/10/white-columbia-university-student-goes-on-racist-tirade/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">New York Post</a>: &#8220;White Columbia University student goes on racist tirade&#8221;</li>
<li><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/420532-columbia-university-officials-denounce-white-student-caught-on&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1544808754516000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEE_5HuzhNhvUD20SlgP9BiDOJ1zQ" href="https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/420532-columbia-university-officials-denounce-white-student-caught-on" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Hill</a>: &#8220;Columbia University denounces white student who berated black classmates with racist language&#8221;</li>
<li><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2018/12/11/columbia-university-denounces-white-students-racially-charged-rant/2274357002/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1544808754516000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEMZM8Syk0hxBXG45UwufZ4cU3XYQ" href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2018/12/11/columbia-university-denounces-white-students-racially-charged-rant/2274357002/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">USA Today</a>: &#8220;Columbia University denounces &#8216;racially charged&#8217; rant by white student&#8221;</li>
<li><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://time.com/5476414/columbia-university-student-racist-rant/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1544808754516000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEdBTtxnohglLlo1loTm0VX46l-DA" href="http://time.com/5476414/columbia-university-student-racist-rant/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">TIME Magazine</a>: &#8220;Columbia University Denounced a Student&#8217;s &#8216;Racially Charged&#8217; Rant&#8221;</li>
<li><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.thedailybeast.com/white-columbia-university-sophomore-taunts-students-of-color-in-racist-tirade&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1544808754516000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHlMv0T21gtVe2EkPgA7z1CPepXPA" href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/white-columbia-university-sophomore-taunts-students-of-color-in-racist-tirade" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Daily Beast</a>: &#8220;White Columbia University Sophomore Taunts Students of Color in Racist Tirade&#8221;</li>
</ul>
Von Abele says that the media have demonized him and misrepresented his views in their reporting. He posted a full statement on the matter to Twitter.
&#8220;I am not a white supremacist or racist, nor do I subscribe to any views that support that ideology,&#8221; the statement reads in part. &#8220;I unequivocally denounce all groups that support racism.&#8221;
&#8220;My reaction that evening grew out of my distaste for the overuse of the term &#8216;white privilege&#8217; and similar divisive rhetoric as a means of dismissing views of others,&#8221; he explained. &#8220;[E]very single person should love themselves and their culture, and we should all be allowed to be proud of our heritage.&#8221;
&#8220;The specific dialogue I reacted to in the video began when several students were accusing Trump supporters of encouraging sexual violence,&#8221; said von Abele. He says he was then told by other students that he had no right to express his views because he was male and white. &#8220;I was offended for being held personally responsible for the historical actions of the people who have the same skin color as me, and I was tired of the divisive rhetoric that blames all the ills of society on white men.&#8221;
&#8220;I was theatrically and sarcastically demonstrating that whites are not allowed to embrace their cultural achievements,&#8221; said the student, noting that the video was &#8220;out-of-context.&#8221;
Addressing the accusations on harassment and assault, von Abele wrote, &#8220;At no time did I shove, grab, or physically or verbally assault anyone, nor did I denigrate anyone&#8217;s race.&#8221;
Von Abele closed the statement, &#8220;I apologize for going over the top, and I emphasize that my reaction was not one of hate.&#8221;
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
For the record, here&#8217;s my full statement to the media that the AP refused to print in its entirety. <a href="https://t.co/3q6vTdLFor">pic.twitter.com/3q6vTdLFor</a>
&#8212; Julian von Abele (@VonAbele) <a href="https://twitter.com/VonAbele/status/1073252508787724288?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 13, 2018</a></blockquote>
</div>
Read the full statement from the university, below:
<blockquote>
Dear Undergraduate Students,
We write to you to unequivocally denounce a deeply disturbing racially charged incident involving Columbia undergraduates that took place in front of Butler Library and JJ&#8217;s Place early this morning.
Many of you have heard about or seen the alarming footage online, which includes painful language directed toward students of color in our community. Although we cannot comment on the proceedings, this incident is already under investigation by the Office of Student Conduct and Community Standards, and we want to assure you that it will be investigated thoroughly, beginning with interviews of witnesses.
We are alarmed at the rise of incidents of racism and hate speech in our world today. It is more important than ever that we continually demonstrate our core values and restate our commitment to a diverse, inclusive community on campus. At Columbia, we stand firmly against white supremacist language and violence. As we said last week, our community will not waver in its support for those of any faith, race, gender, sexual orientation, background or identity.
We understand this may be a difficult time for you and your classmates. Members of our on-call team began to provide individual support as soon as we learned of the incident. If you need support this evening, please reach out to your RA, who will connect you to additional resources as necessary.
All undergraduate students are invited to an open reflection space tomorrow night, Monday, December 10, 6:00-8:00 p.m. in Lerner Hall 505, hosted by Multicultural Affairs, for students to be in community with each other. Additional areas of support will be announced as we are able to plan.
Our collective work toward peace, respect and understanding must continue, both within our community and society at large.
Sincerely,
Mary C. Boyce Dean of The Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science
Lisa Rosen-Metsch Dean of the School of General Studies
James J. Valentini Dean of Columbia College and Vice President for Undergraduate Education
</blockquote>

WATCH: Columbia Student ‘Under Investigation’ For Praising White People Responds To Backlash

Race

Not even former &#8220;Saturday Night Live&#8221; writers are safe from the Ivy-League PC crowds.
Nimesh Patel, comedian, Emmy Award nominated writer, and the first Indian-American writer for SNL (he no longer writes for the show), was performing stand-up comedy last Friday for an event hosted by Columbia University&#8217;s Asian American Alliance (AAA). But mid-set, the 32-year-old was removed from the stage because his jokes were making some audience members uncomfortable.
The event was called cultureSHOCK: Reclaim, but apparently attendees neither wanted a shock nor to reclaim anything, as Patel&#8217;s treatment shows.
Patel&#8217;s set focused on his experiences growing up in a diverse neighborhood in New York City, <a href="https://www.columbiaspectator.com/news/2018/12/01/student-organizers-boot-snl-writer-from-stage-during-standup-routine-for-jokes-deemed-offensive-2/">according to the student newspaper the Columbia Spectator</a>. But when he made a joke about a gay, black man he knew growing up, things turned sour. Patel joked that being gay couldn&#8217;t possibly be a choice because &#8220;no one looks in the mirror and thinks, &#8216;this black thing is too easy, let me just add another thing to it.&#8217;&#8221;
The Spectator reported that 30 minutes into Patel&#8217;s set, AAA members &#8220;interrupted the performance, denounced his jokes about racial identities and sexual orientation, and provided him with a few moments for closing remarks.&#8221; The report added that Patel&#8217;s jokes about sexual orientation received fewer laughs from the audience.
Patel stood his ground when asked to leave. He said he identified with Asian Americans, insisted his jokes weren&#8217;t offensive, and that these ideas were found &#8220;in the real world.&#8221; This was too much for the Columbia snowflakes, and Patel&#8217;s microphone was cut.
The event, according to the Spectator is &#8220;an annual charity showcase featuring a fashion show, productions by various student groups and a famous performer, aims to provide a platform for Asian American artistic expression and breakthrough harmful stereotypes.&#8221; Apparently, &#8220;artistic expression&#8221; actually means &#8220;carefully censored politically correct expression,&#8221; and &#8220;breakthrough harmful stereotypes&#8221; actually means &#8220;don&#8217;t mention any harmful stereotypes.&#8221;
Columbia freshmen Adam Warren agreed with AAA&#8217;s decision to remove Patel.
&#8220;The message they were trying to send with the event was opposite to the jokes he was making, and using people&#8217;s ethnicity as the crux of his jokes could be funny but still offensive &#8230; He definitely wasn&#8217;t the most crass comedian I&#8217;ve ever heard but for the event it was inappropriate,&#8221; he told the Spectator.
Not all audience members were offended (so there is still some hope for humanity). Elle Ferguson, a freshman at Columbia&#8217;s sister school Barnard College, said she wasn&#8217;t offended by Patel&#8217;s set.
&#8220;While what some of the things that he said might have been a bit provoking to some of the audience, as someone who watches comedy a lot, none of them were jokes that I hadn&#8217;t heard before and none of them were jokes that elicited such a response in my experience,&#8221; Ferguson told the Spectator. &#8220;[AAA] should have talked to him beforehand especially because comedy is known for being ground-breaking and for pushing boundaries.&#8221;
Naturally, at least one student had to insist the current politically correct movement &#8211; which labels opposing ideas and unpopular facts as &#8220;hate speech&#8221; &#8211; is making the world a better place.
&#8220;I really dislike when people who are older say that our generation needs to be exposed to the real world. Obviously the world is not a safe space but just accepting that it&#8217;s not and continuing to perpetuate the un-safeness of it&#8230; is saying that it can&#8217;t be changed,&#8221; said freshman Sofia Jao. &#8220;When older generations say you need to stop being so sensitive, it&#8217;s like undermining what our generation is trying to do in accepting others and making it safer.&#8221;
An earlier version of this article implied Patel still writes for SNL. He has not written for the show since last season.

SNL Writer Removed From Stage For ‘Offensive’ Jokes At Columbia University

Political Correctness

Saturday Night Live

Snowflakes

Social Justice

In the wake of the massacre at a Pittsburgh synagogue that was the worst attack on American Jews in the country&#8217;s history, with 11 Jews murdered and six others wounded, the Columbia student life office, which <a href="https://universitylife.columbia.edu/about">describes itself </a>as &#8220;your hub for University-wide student life information and initiatives,&#8221; issued an email with its statement that left out two words: &#8220;Jews&#8221; and &#8220;anti-Semitism.&#8221;
The email stated:
<blockquote>
We are deeply saddened by the senseless violence at Pittsburgh&#8217;s Tree of Life synagogue on Saturday morning. Violence in our nation&#8217;s houses of worship is an affront to the freedoms our community holds dear. We stand strongly against these efforts to create fear and terror.
For some in our community, this is a particularly frightening time as we have seen a growing number of highly visible attacks directed at faith and identity &#8212; on worshippers and people of faith as they go through their daily lives, on groups gathered to celebrate an LGBT Latin night at Pulse Nightclub; on civil rights and anti-racist protesters in the streets of Charlottesville, and in so many other places, as occurred in last Wednesday&#8217;s shooting of two African-American shoppers in Kentucky. Please know that you are not alone, and that you are part of this community founded on the fundamental dignity and worth of all.
</blockquote>
<div class="embed tweet">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
This is very odd. An email from the <a href="https://twitter.com/Columbia?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Columbia</a> student life office (so often a source of problems on campus as Lyell Asher has noted <a href="https://t.co/vzJ3Rnf9pP">https://t.co/vzJ3Rnf9pP</a>) about the Pittsburgh shooting doesn&#8217;t utter the words &#8220;Jews&#8221; or &#8220;anti-Semitism.&#8221; Via <a href="https://twitter.com/DGreenbaum?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DGreenbaum</a> 1/ <a href="https://t.co/k6yuiFieDf">pic.twitter.com/k6yuiFieDf</a>
&#8212; Nicholas A. Christakis (@NAChristakis) <a href="https://twitter.com/NAChristakis/status/1056864225497440256?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 29, 2018</a></blockquote>
</div>
Criticism abounded after the release of the statement, including this from a Columbia alumnus:
<div class="embed tweet">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
Classic <a href="https://twitter.com/Columbia?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Columbia</a> to send an email about the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TreeOfLifeSynagogue?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TreeOfLifeSynagogue</a> shooting and mention anti-LGBT and anti-black hatred but NOT ANTI-SEMITISM. The world has gone mad , I&#8217;m embarrassed today to call myself an alumnus &amp; regret having donated to <a href="https://twitter.com/CC_Columbia?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CC_Columbia</a> this year. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Columbia?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Columbia</a>
&#8212; Zachary Neugut (@ZacharyNeugut) <a href="https://twitter.com/ZacharyNeugut/status/1056719475666501632?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 29, 2018</a></blockquote>
</div>
On Sunday, the office of university life <a href="https://universitylife.columbia.edu/pittsburgh">amended the first sentence</a> in its original statement to read: &#8220;We are deeply saddened by the horrific antisemitic attack on Pittsburgh&#8217;s Tree of Life Synagogue on Saturday morning.&#8221;
Neugut responded to the new statement by tweeting, &#8220;To be fair Columbia College privately DM&#8217;d me an apology and revised their statement here: <a href="https://t.co/orlMzrlW9I">https://universitylife.columbia.edu/pittsburgh </a> To also be fair they shouldn&#8217;t make this mistake in the first place and their new statement is barely better Conflating anti-semitism with other hatreds is idiotic.&#8221;
Simon Wiesenthal Center Associate Dean Rabbi Abraham Cooper told the <a href="http://jewishjournal.com/news/nation/241001/columbia-updates-statement-pittsburgh-shooting-didnt-mention-jews-anti-semitism/">Jewish Journal</a> in an email:
<blockquote>
11 Jews are mass murdered in a synagogue on Shabbat morning by a gunman who was screaming &#8220;kill all Jews&#8221; and a university in New York City with massive Jewish alumni is caught disrespecting a grieving Jewish people? Updating? How about a wake-up call for all universities to stop coddling anti-Semites on their campuses? These academics get an F. They simply refuse to say the A word. And too many university leaders refuse to deal with anti-Semitism on their own campuses leaving Jewish students targets for anti-Semitic intimidation and worse. This refusal to recognize, let alone combat, anti-Semitism explains why the Simon Wiesenthal Center supports a Congressional bill to define the term, so the U.S. Dept. of Education can finally defend Jewish students when Universities won&#8217;t.
</blockquote>

Columbia University Office’s Statement On Pittsburgh Massacre Doesn’t Mention Jews Or Anti-Semitism

An article in The New York Times titled &#8220;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/21/style/campus-sex-women-exposure.html">There Is Life After Campus Infamy</a>&#8221; chronicles the controversies and aftermath of five &#8220;people&#8221; &#8212; all women, except one who uses non-binary pronouns &#8212; who achieved internet fame and then lost it.
The fifth person is none other than Emma Sulkowicz, otherwise known as &#8220;Mattress Girl,&#8221; who famously carried a cheap mattress around campus as part of an &#8220;art&#8221; project aimed at holding her alleged rapist accountable. The problem was that Columbia University found the man she accused, Paul Nungesser, not responsible (four times, as Sulkowicz recruited her friends to make suspect accusations against him as well).
Media outlets held her up as a hero for victims, and Columbia allowed her to accuse Nungesser publicly &#8212; and loudly &#8212; never standing up for the student&#8217;s rights to privacy or, since he was found not responsible, that it was possible he was the victim in this instance.
After Sulkowicz appeared on magazine covers and attended the State of the Union with Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), an investigation into her claims &#8212; something no other media outlet conducted &#8212; revealed that she was not the victim she appeared to be.
Facebook messages obtained by Cathy Young showed Sulkowicz had <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/columbia-student-found-not-responsible-of-rape-finally-tells-his-side-of-the-story">a flirtatious relationship</a> with Nungesser even after he allegedly held her down, punched her, choked her, and raped her in a position that never seemed plausible to Columbia officials. She claimed to have not even realized she was raped despite the alleged violence (no one has ever come forward to say she had bruises or marks consistent with this alleged attack). Nungesser denies all of this.
Nungesser would later sue Columbia for the way he was treated on campus &#8212; how Sulkowicz&#8217;s defamation of him went unchallenged. She was allowed to continue her art project, which also consisted of drawings of his genitals. One suspects a male student never would be allowed to draw similar pictures of a female ex-lover.
Nungesser&#8217;s lawsuit struggled for years, but it was finally dropped after he and his family reached <a href="http://thefederalist.com/2017/07/26/college-students-falsely-accused-sexual-assault-good-couple-weeks/">an undisclosed settlement with the university</a> last year.
But it is not Nungesser&#8217;s undeserved infamy that is profiled by the Times. His name is mentioned in the article and his settlement is mentioned, but the focus is on Sulkowicz and her life now, which basically consists of her conducting more &#8220;art&#8221; projects that feature her barely clothed and claiming to be a victim. She also now uses non-binary pronouns.
The Times claims that after she left Columbia, &#8220;Sulkowicz struggled to carry around the new burden of an outside reputation.&#8221; No she didn&#8217;t. Every art project she comes up with gets media attention and she gets to meet celebrities. I doubt any other art major from Columbia has a guaranteed audience for their exhibits.
Meanwhile, Nungesser is exiled to his home country of Germany because the attacks on his character from Sulkowicz and her media enablers have made him believe he would never be able to succeed in America.

New York Times Still Considers ‘Mattress Girl’ A Victim

Sexual Harassment

On Tuesday, a rabidly anti-Semitic Iranian professor at Columbia University decided to leave no doubt about the depth of his anti-Semitism on Tuesday, tweeting that every evil act in the world was connected to the state of Israel:
<div class="embed tweet">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
Every dirty treacherous ugly and pernicious act happening in the world just wait for a few days and the ugly name of &#8220;Israel&#8221; will pup&#8230; <a href="https://t.co/DcbxoJt3HO">https://t.co/DcbxoJt3HO</a>
&#8212; Hamid Dabashi (@HamidDabashi) <a href="https://twitter.com/HamidDabashi/status/993778247799361536?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 8, 2018</a></blockquote>
</div>
Dabashi was responding to a <a href="https://mobile.nytimes.com/2018/05/07/us/politics/iran-deal-benjamin-rhodes-black-cube.html?action=click&amp;module=Top+Stories&amp;pgtype=Homepage">story</a> about a private investigative agency that was allegedly hired by opponents of the Iran nuclear deal to gather information regarding Ben Rhodes, the Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications for former president Barack Obama, who famously admitted that he had lied and created a false story so that the deal would go through.
According to The New York Times, the agency, Black Cube, was &#8220;established by former intelligence analysts from the Israel Defense Forces.&#8221;
That was enough for Dabashi to fulminate his full-throated hatred on social media. As if that tweet weren&#8217;t enough, he followed with this:
<div class="embed tweet">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
These laughing hyaenas &#8212;the Zionists the Saudis and the US neocons are f**** with the wrong country &#8212; in their stupidity and ignorance they think they are fighting with the Iranian government &#8212; they are dead wrong &#8212; they are picking up a fight&#8230; <a href="https://t.co/kXf6T7gUY4">https://t.co/kXf6T7gUY4</a>
&#8212; Hamid Dabashi (@HamidDabashi) <a href="https://twitter.com/HamidDabashi/status/993955507390988289?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 8, 2018</a></blockquote>
</div>
And if that weren&#8217;t enough, here is what he <a href="https://www.facebook.com/dabashi/posts/1781739238513014">posted on Facebook</a> on May 2, attacking Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as well as American Jews and the governments of Saudi Arabia and India:
<blockquote>
This ridiculous man, this notorious, corrupt, criminally insane creature, this laughing stock of every decent civilized human being on planet earth, this pathetic pathological liar, this vulgar vicious charlatan, this settler colonialist racist thug, this war criminal, this leading perpetrator of crimes against humanity, this nightmare who needs to be put in a straight jacket and chained to a cage in an asylum house or a zoo . . . is the democratically elected &#8220;Prime Minister&#8221; of the racist apartheid state of Israel, the man Israelis have freely elected as their chief political representative, the man whose pernicious gibberish and flat lies instigating for death and destruction of a sovereign nation every major venue in &#8220;Western media&#8221; prominently featured . . . he is the crowning achievement of &#8220;Western liberal democracy&#8221; on the last colonial fortress and garrison state of their Enlightenment Modernity &#8212; but don&#8217;t think him alone &#8212; he has countless treacherous American (AIPAC) , Iranian (MEK), Arab (the Saudi clan), Indian (BJP) . . . Lookalikes and admirers &#8212;
</blockquote>
That this rabid hater of Jews and America teaches at Columbia University is hardly surprising: this is the same university that invited Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who spoke of <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/27/world/africa/wipe-israel-off-the-map-iranian-says.html">eradicating the state of Israel</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0MvAChuF4i8">to speak</a> in 2007.

UGLY: Columbia University Prof Says Every Treacherous And Evil Act Comes From Israel

Anti-Semitism

News media can and should describe President Donald Trump&#8217;s conduct as &#8220;racist,&#8221; argues Columbia Journalism Review (CJR) in a <a href="https://www.cjr.org/covering_trump/trump-racism.php">Monday-published post</a>.
Entitled &#8220;Dancing around the word &#8216;racist&#8217; in coverage of Trump,&#8221; CJR argues the term &#8220;racist&#8221; is a preferable decriptor with which to describe Trump and the president&#8217;s conduct rather than &#8220;racially charged,&#8221; &#8220;racially loaded,&#8221; and &#8220;racially divisive.&#8221;
Left-wing racial agitator Jamelle Bouie of Slate and CBS is cited by CJR as a legitimate resource for professional guidance of political news media:
<div class="embed tweet">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
Glad that everyone sees that Trump is race baiting but annoyed that we&#8217;re using &#8220;racial&#8221; or &#8220;racially charged&#8221; instead of just &#8220;racist.&#8221;
&#8212; Jamelle Bouie (@jbouie) <a href="https://twitter.com/jbouie/status/911727255872819201">September 23, 2017</a></blockquote>
</div>
Kyle Pope, CJR&#8217;s editor and publisher, agrees with Bouie&#8217;s assessment of Trump&#8217;s racism as prima facie and axiomatic:
<div class="embed tweet">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
A year ago, big media orgs like the NYT faced facts and called Trump a liar on the front page. It&#8217;s time to use the word racist, too.
&#8212; Kyle Pope (@kylepope) <a href="https://twitter.com/kylepope/status/912020807500562433">September 24, 2017</a></blockquote>
</div>

CJR pushes the false left-wing and Democrat narrative of Trump&#8217;s &#8220;racist caricature of Mexican immigrants&#8221; as proof of what it alleges is the president&#8217;s &#8220;long and well-documented &#8230; history of racism.&#8221; CJR concludes, matter-of-factly, that Trump can objectively be defined as &#8220;racist&#8221;:
<blockquote>
Opinion writers and columnists have long felt free to label Trump&#8217;s words for what they are. Given the surfeit of evidence, of which his castigation of NFL players is only the latest piece, it&#8217;s time for reporters to do the same.
</blockquote>
At no point in the article does CJR define &#8220;racism&#8221; or &#8220;racist.&#8221;
CJR generally frames political objectivity as both a desirable and achievable standard to be pursued across the news media industry.
Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism (CUGSJ) was founded in 1912 via donations by Democrat news media tycoon Joseph Pulitzer, whose namesake adorns the Pulitzer Prize, ostensibly awarded in recognition of quality journalistic endeavors.
CUGSJ alumni include assorted personalities across left-wing and Democrat-aligned news media outlets, most of which present themselves as politically objective and non-partisan in their operations.

Follow Robert Kraychik on <a href="https://twitter.com/kr3ch3k">Twitter</a>.

Columbia Journalism Review: Journalists Can Objectively Say Trump Is ‘Racist’

Donald Trump

Leftism

Media

Media Bias

Racism

Trump Administration

The New York Times was awarded three 2017 Pulitzer Prizes, <a href="http://www.pulitzer.org/news/video-2017-pulitzer-prize-announcement">announced</a> the Pulitzer Prize Board on Friday.

One of the awards was in the field of &#8220;international reporting,&#8221; presented to The New York Times&#8217; staff for its coverage of what The Gray Lady describes as &#8220;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/news-event/russian-election-hacking">Russian Hacking in the U.S. Election</a>.&#8221;

The New York Times has been the tip of the news media&#8217;s spear in pushing a narrative of 2016&#8217;s presidential election being compromised by a propaganda war from the Russian government at the direction of Russian President Vladimir Putin. It has collaborated broadly with CNN, The Washington Post, and similarly-aligned news media outlets towards this end.

Innuendo framing President Donald Trump as either a knowing or unwitting accomplice of the Kremlin&#8217;s political subversion of American politics was described by the Pulitzer Prize Board as: &#8220;agenda-setting reporting on Vladimir Putin&#8217;s efforts to project Russia&#8217;s power abroad, revealing techniques that included assassination, online harassment and the planting of incriminating evidence on opponents.&#8221;

Pultizer Prizes were awarded to a number of left-wing and Democrat-aligned news media outlets beyond The New York Times&#8203;; other winners included The Washington Post, The New York Daily News, The New Yorker, The Chicago Tribune, McClatchy, and ProPublica.

The New York Times presents what it describes as its straight news team as politically objective and non-partisan. It currently markets itself as a truth-telling news media outlet:

<img alt height="357" src="https://dw-wp-dev.imgix.net/2019/09/new_york_times_truth_promotion.jpg" width="739" />


The Washington Post&#8216;s David Fahrenthold was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for &#8220;national reporting,&#8221; <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/10/business/media/pulitzer-prize-winners.html">praised</a> for &#8220;persistent reporting that created a model for transparent journalism in political campaign coverage while casting doubt on Donald Trump&#8217;s assertions of generosity toward charities.&#8221;

<img alt height="519" src="https://dw-wp-dev.imgix.net/2019/09/david_fahrenthold_pulitzer_washington_post.jpg" width="780" />
WASHINGTON, DC &#8211; APRIL 10: Washington Post&#8217;s David Fahrenthold reacts at the news of his win of the Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting, for dogged reporting of Trump&#8217;s philanthropy, in the newsroom of the Washington Post in Washington, DC on April 10, 2017. (Photo by Bonnie Jo Mount/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

No awards were presented for any investigations into allegations of political corruption on the part of the Clintons; or investigations of political influence peddling via the ostensibly philanthropic Clinton Foundation. Following the 2016 presidential election, the Clinton Foundation &#8211; heralded by Hillary Clinton and left-wing news media figures such as CNN figureheads Anderson Cooper and Jake Tapper as a virtuous charity &#8211; has been shut down.

Likewise ignored by the Pulitzer Prize Board was any investigation into Obama administration scandals; fraud at the Department of Veterans Affairs, the 2012 Islamic terrorist attack on the American diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya, and the partisan political weaponization of the IRS were all ignored.

The Pulitzer Prize is administered by the University of Columbia&#8217;s School of Journalism; its prizes are ostensibly awarded for merit in the fields of journalism.

Follow Robert Kraychik on <a href="https://twitter.com/kr3ch3k">Twitter</a>.

new_york_times_truth_promotion

NYT Wins Pulitzer For Hyping ‘Russian Hacking’ Narrative

Fake News

Journalism

New York Times

Russia

Vladimir Putin

After his <a href="http://www.dailywire.com/news/14116/middlebury-college-protests-closed-mindedness-and-erielle-davidson">event at Middlebury College</a> caused riots that put a liberal professor in a neck brace, Dr. Charles Murray could face another hostile crowd at Columbia University. According to The College Fix, flyers advertising his event at Barnard College got <a href="http://www.thecollegefix.com/post/31620/">defaced</a> with devils horns, expletives, and claims that he is a white supremacist. 
<img alt height="380" src="https://dw-wp-dev.imgix.net/2019/09/charles-murray-vandal-columbia.jpg" width="580" />
<img alt height="380" src="https://dw-wp-dev.imgix.net/2019/09/charles-murray-columbia-vandals.jpg" width="580" />
<img alt height="380" src="https://dw-wp-dev.imgix.net/2019/09/charles-murray-vandal-columbia-pinface.jpg" width="580" />
A spokesperson at Barnard College told The College Fix the following in response to the defaced flyers:
<blockquote>
The Barnard College Code of Conduct prohibits &#8216;attempted or actual theft of and/or damage to property of the College, or property of a member of the College community, or other personal or public property, on or off campus. Barnard College stands by its code of conduct and expects all students to abide by its contents.
</blockquote>
The spokesperson also stopped short of condemning students at the college for vandalizing the flyers, saying that the campus is an &#8220;open campus&#8221; and that even outsiders could be responsible.
Murray&#8217;s event, <a href="https://www.eventbrite.com/e/are-elites-to-blame-for-the-rise-of-donald-trump-featuring-charles-murray-tickets-32608443733">titled</a> &#8220;Are Elites to Blame for the Rise of Donald Trump,&#8221; is scheduled for March 23 at Havemeyer Hall.
Follow Elliott on <a href="https://twitter.com/ElliottRHams">Twitter</a> and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ElliottRHams/">Facebook</a>.

charles-murray-vandal-columbia

Students At Columbia Plaster Devil Horns On Charles Murray Posters

Charles Murray

Fascism

On Monday night, Columbia University&#8217;s Students Supporting Israel (SSI) chapter hosted Danny Danon, Israel&#8217;s Ambassador to the United Nations. Danon, a member of Prime Minister Netanyahu&#8217;s Likud Party, recently <a href="http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/222203">blasted</a> the United Nations Security Council for their anti-Israel resolution last December, saying that the UN was not given &#8220;the right to condemn the Jewish nation for building homes in its eternal capital.&#8221;
After SSI announced the event, Columbia&#8217;s leftists responded harshly, <a href="https://www.campusreform.org/index.cfm?ID=8759">promising</a> to protest Danon. In an event <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/1260268454048775/">titled</a> &#8220;Racists Not Welcome,&#8221; Columbia&#8217;s Students for Justice in Palestine, Jewish Voice for Peace, and Columbia University Apartheid Divest gave the following description of Danon:
<blockquote>
Danny Danon, Israel&#8217;s Ambassador to the United Nations, has been invited to give a talk at Columbia University. Danon refers to African migrants as &#8220;infiltrators&#8221; and &#8220;a national plague&#8221;; he cheers the murder of activists delivering aid to Gaza; he wants to strip Palestinians in Israel of all rights unless they sign a loyalty oath to Israel &#8220;as a Jewish state&#8221;; he writes in the New York Times that Israel should annex the West Bank, abandoning even the pretence of the &#8220;two-state solution.&#8221; 
</blockquote>
As promised, these Jew-hating leftists <a href="http://www.israellycool.com/2017/02/14/watch-israel-haters-interrupt-danny-danons-columbia-speech/">disrupted</a> Danon&#8217;s sponsored talk, calling for Israel to be destroyed and calling Israel a racist state.
<blockquote data-lang="en">
Anti Israel protest outside <a href="https://twitter.com/dannydanon">@dannydanon</a> talk at <a href="https://twitter.com/Columbia">@Columbia</a>. Chanting for destruction of Jewish state. <a href="https://t.co/EBz6JrYcaB">pic.twitter.com/EBz6JrYcaB</a>
&#8212; Lea Speyer (@LeaRSpeyer) <a href="https://twitter.com/LeaRSpeyer/status/831294411342503938">February 14, 2017</a></blockquote>
<blockquote data-lang="en">
First group of protesters disrupt <a href="https://twitter.com/dannydanon">@dannydanon</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/Columbia">@Columbia</a> speech. &#8216;Racists not welcome.&#8217; Thrown out to applause, boos by audience. <a href="https://t.co/04ApK79AUr">pic.twitter.com/04ApK79AUr</a>
&#8212; Lea Speyer (@LeaRSpeyer) <a href="https://twitter.com/LeaRSpeyer/status/831307773904297984">February 14, 2017</a></blockquote>
Danon himself slammed the protestors on his verified Twitter page, correctly asserting that these protestors do not believe that Israel has a right to exist as a Jewish state, contrary to known international law.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
These people don&#8217;t recognize Israel&#8217;s Right to exist. Jerusalem is the eternal capital of Israel and that is not going to change. <a href="https://t.co/1967N2shqK">pic.twitter.com/1967N2shqK</a>
&#8212; Ambassador Danon (@dannydanon) <a href="https://twitter.com/dannydanon/status/831315018016751616">February 14, 2017</a></blockquote>
While the radical left expressed moral outrage at the existence of the Jewish state, Tablet Magazine&#8216;s Senior Writer Yair Rosenberg asked why these protestors failed to disrupt former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, a known <a href="http://www.timesofisrael.com/ahmadinejad-says-holocaust-denial-was-his-major-achievement/">Holocaust denier</a> and a proponent of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2005/oct/27/israel.iran">exterminating</a> the Jewish state.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
Fun fact: Holocaust-denying Iranian president Ahmadinejad spoke at Columbia in 2007. Students did not shout him down once. <a href="https://t.co/4ajY6x4mTM">https://t.co/4ajY6x4mTM</a>
&#8212; (((Yair Rosenberg))) (@Yair_Rosenberg) <a href="https://twitter.com/Yair_Rosenberg/status/831502325185445888">February 14, 2017</a></blockquote>
The answer is simple: According to the radical left, Holocaust-denying, <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/24/mahmoud-ahmadinejad-homosexuality-gay-rights_n_1909548.html">homophobic</a>, and Jew-hating Islamists get a pass but the UN representative of the only Jewish state is not allowed to speak on campus. Their hypocrisy remains visible for all to see.
While Students for Justice in Palestine <a href="http://zoa.org/2016/05/10323011-former-treasury-official-hamas-group-funds-bdssjp-groups/">continues to receive funds</a> from genocidal terrorist groups like Hamas, the pro-Israel students at SSI continue to stand up for liberal values of tolerance, free speech, and free expression by inviting someone that fascists feel compelled to disrupt.
Follow Elliott on <a href="https://twitter.com/ElliottRHams">Twitter</a>.

WATCH: Students Protest Israeli Ambassador at Columbia. They Didn’t Say A Word When Iran’s President Showed Up.

Benjamin Netanyahu

Iran

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United Nations

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In a video produced by conservative activist <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pamelageller/">Pamela Geller</a> for the human rights group American Freedom Defense Initiative (AFDI), students at Ivy League Columbia University were asked if Planned Parenthood, a government-funded entity, should fund and support female genital mutilation (FGM). Nearly all the students interviewed condoned the barbaric practice, leaning on faux &#8220;tolerance&#8221; as their rationale for the inexcusable promotion of misogyny. 
<a href="http://www.newsweek.com/fgm-rates-have-doubled-us-2004-304773">FGM</a>, sometimes called female circumcision, &#8220;involves cutting the external female genitalia for non-medical reasons. Depending on local customs, it could also include additional modifications ranging from cutting away part of the clitoris to removing the inner and outer vaginal lips before sewing the remaining skin together, leaving a small hole for urination and menstrual blood.&#8221;
The practice, which is currently performed in 29 counties, will void female sexual pleasure, intending to keep girls and women chaste and sexually pure or to prevent cheating. It often leads to medical complications and is even linked to increased death in newborns. 
It is illegal to perform FGM in the United States. And human rights groups have rightfully condemned the gruesome practice, activating to stop the cultural ritual largely associated with Islam. Even the United Nations, as morally bankrupt as it is, launched an &#8220;<a href="http://www.unfpa.org/news/joint-statement-international-day-zero-tolerance-female-genital-mutilation-fgm" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">International Day of Zero Tolerance for FGM</a>&#8221; back in 2015. 
But to the intellectuals at Columbia University, mutilating a girl&#8217;s genitals is okay. Supporting it shows tolerance, actually. 
AFDI reporter Laura Loomer went on campus to ask Columbia students if they would support Planned Parenthood funding FGM. Of the 20 students asked, only one unequivocally condemned FGM. Most students contended the ritual was all about &#8220;choice,&#8221; completely missing the misogyny attached to the practice young girls and women are pressured into. Most disturbingly, one student argued that age was no issue. 
&#8220;Regardless of their age?&#8221; Loomer followed up, after the student condoned the practice of FGM. 
&#8220;Oh, absolutely,&#8221; he answered. 
Regardless of their age. Let that sink in.
Watch the AFDI video, below: 
<div class="media_embed"><iframe allowfullscreen frameborder="0" height="360px" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/YQge2xTKPno" width="640px"></iframe></div>
Though FGM remains illegal in America, girls and women at risk of the practice has doubled in the last 10 years, according to available 2015 data. As <a href="http://www.newsweek.com/fgm-rates-have-doubled-us-2004-304773">noted </a>by Newsweek, &#8220;Immigration to the U.S. from African and Middle Eastern countries&#8212;where the practice of FGM is a deeply entrenched cultural tradition&#8212;is the sole factor for the rise in numbers, says Mark Mather, a demographer at PRB who led the data analysis. There has not been an increase in the practice happening in the U.S. itself, he says.&#8221;
<div>
The ADFI video contends that FGM is exclusive to the religion of Islam and is not cultural, but religious. 
</div>

VIDEO: Columbia Students Asked if They Support Female Genital Mutilation. Their Responses Are Disturbing.

Female Genital Mutilation

Islam

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