Good morning and welcome to the fifth issue of the Campus Crisis Daily.

Thanks to readers for sending in photos and information about campuses you are following. If you have a tip or a first-person account, send it to: [email protected].

Top Stories

Columbia. As we reported in yesterday’s newsletter, Columbia University canceled its university-wide commencement ceremony, following the anti-Israel protests that disrupted campus the last few weeks. In a statement Monday, Columbia shared that its focus has turned to individual school ceremonies and “keeping them safe, respectful, and running smoothly.”

GREENBLATT: “Thousands of students who spent four years working hard are losing out because of the actions of a few. They deserve better.”

WHITE HOUSE: “It is unfortunate that a small group of people went too far and cost their classmates this important event,” Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.

DEEPER: What’s it like to be an Israeli student at Columbia who lost loved ones on 10/7? Read Iddo Gefen’s powerful reflection in the Atlantic.

Emerson. On April 25, Boston Police arrested 108 students at Emerson College as it cleared an encampment there. In an email to members of the campus community, Emerson President Jay Bernhardt disclosed that the College is not pursuing any disciplinary charges against the anti-Israel protesters, but is paying bail for the students and asking the District Attorney not to prosecute them. On top of that, Emerson will pay for their housing this summer to accommodate any court dates. We thought we had seen it all, but this takes the cake for total capitulation to anti-Israel lawbreakers.

TAKE ACTION. Tell President Bernhardt to reverse course on this outrageous rewarding of rule-breaking and disruptive behavior.

Penn. On Monday, interim University of Pennsylvania president Larry Jameson, in his first message to the UPenn community in over a week, suggested that the encampment was making campus less safe, noting that “it is in violation of our policies, it is disrupting campus operations and events, and it is causing fear for many in our large, diverse community, especially among our Jewish students.”

Harvard. Monday, interim Harvard University president Alan Garber sent a university-wide email instructing the anti-Israel protesters to leave. Garber wrote, “Over the last 12 days, the encampment in Harvard Yard has disrupted our educational activities and operations. The right to free speech, including protest and dissent, is vital to the work of the research university. But it is not unlimited … I call on those participating in the encampment to end the occupation of Harvard Yard.” Later that evening, more than 400 students and others marched to his private home to protest his position.

Brown. This antisemitic message was posted in a Brown University Sidechat over the weekend (Sidechat is a social media site only open to a college’s students). It’s an unmistakable reference to the despicable medieval blood libel, which falsely states that Jews use Christian blood to bake Passover matzah. This is blatant antisemitism, disgusting, and the University must respond accordingly.

UCSD. 64 people were arrested on Monday, during the dismantling of an anti-Israel protest encampment. According to a statement from the University of California, San Diego, of those arrested, 24 were not affiliated with the University.

UCLA. At University of California, Los Angeles, an additional 44 anti-Israel protesters were arrested and charged with conspiracy to attempt burglary on Monday.

Emory. On Monday, Emory University announced they are relocating the main commencement to an indoor stadium in Duluth, Georgia. In a statement, the university cited safety and security concerns, requiring the administration to adjust graduation plans. This comes after law enforcement removed an encampment from the Emory Quadrangle and arrested 28 protestors on April 25.

DePaul. Watch as a masked anti-Israel protester at DePaul University shows a 10 and 7 on their fingers then signals to slit his throat, insinuating the 10/7 Israel massacre. How is this peaceful?

Incoming Class. CNN reports that prospective students are reassessing their college choices, placing a premium on safety and institutional responses to antisemitism. ADL’s 2024 Campus Antisemitism Report Card was cited as a useful resource as part of their decision-making.

Campus Champions

Dig Doug. Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff met with Jewish students who are descended from Holocaust survivors at the White House yesterday to discuss students’ experiences with antisemitism. According to the official read out of the meeting, Emhoff “emphasized the need to protect Jewish communities and provide safe learning environments for all students.”

Battling for Students. Read this Jewish Insider wrap up of the different organizations standing up to universities that are capitulating to protesters. ADL’s own VP of Advocacy Shira Goodman summed it up: “The protesters’ aim and impact on many campuses has been to intimidate and alienate Jewish students for whom Zionism and a connection to Israel is a component of their Jewish identity. They must be held to account, not rewarded for their conduct.”

Marching Against Antisemitism. University leaders marched from Auschwitz to Birkenau for Holocaust Remembrance Day, including administrators from the State University of New York system (SUNY), Yeshiva University, Towson University, and Xavier University of Louisiana, among others. Amidst rising antisemitism across our campuses, these leaders have taken a clear step to demonstrate their dedication to standing against antisemitism.

Speaking from the House. Rep. Burgess Owens (R-UT) writing in the Hill: “we should not hesitate to halt funding from these universities if they are unable to restore order to their campus, expel students engaged in antisemitic activity and fire faculty who promote hatred and ostracize Jewish students.”

Am Yisrael Chai 💪✡️

Inside the Encampments. Washington Post columnist Max Boot: “the protesters’ ideological and behavioral excesses undermine the very causes for which they fight.” Read his piece: “I’ve read student protesters’ manifestos. This is ugly stuff. Clueless, too.”

Student Becomes the Teacher. At the UCLA campus, a Jewish UCLA student schooled a UCLA professor on the definition of genocide and what is happening in Gaza.

Be Kind. In a video message, Daniel Lubetzky, the founder of Kind Snacks, an ADL board member, and founder of Starts With Us, shares an important reminder: “When we do not stand up to bullies and we allow forces of violent absolutism to take over our lives and our institutions, things only get worse.”

Do you have something to share with us? We are building this as we go — so please email us at [email protected] with any suggestions, questions, photos, and videos.