Columbia University has warned or censured eight students who were involved in disrupting speakers from the Minuteman Project last October in a melee that cut short the program, a university spokesman said yesterday.A warning or censure that doesn't last beyond graduation. Seems kind of weak. Of course, the University may not have anything short of expulsion (which I wouldn't support) to impose that would be stronger than censure.
In the televised fracas, protesters stormed a stage at the university and were attacked by others, shutting down speeches by the group, which opposes illegal immigration and has mounted civilian border patrols. The event hurtled the university back into the debate over free speech. Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg chastised Columbia at the time.
The warnings and censures will be noted on the students’ transcripts for varying lengths of time, said Robert Hornsby, a Columbia spokesman. None will remain on the records after graduation. But if students face other disciplinary proceedings, they will face harsher penalties. "All of these punishments have a gravity to them and they should not be taken lightly," Mr. Hornsby said.
Tim Bueler, a spokesman for the Minuteman Project, called Columbia’s disciplinary actions "a travesty of justice" and said that Columbia "is going be losing its status as a prestigious university because they continue to allow these things to happen."
One wonders if the College Republicans had swarmed the stage during a College Democrat sponsored event, would the punishments have been as light?
2 comments:
"The warnings and censures will be noted on the students’ transcripts for varying lengths of time, said Robert Hornsby, a Columbia spokesman. None will remain on the records after graduation."
Because it's illegal. No matter what they do, nothing can appear on their transcripts external to the university. That's been federal law since 1974.
Rightwing Prof.
A point of law, thanks.
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