Submitting DET won’t improve your chances
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Maybe, but the tension between admin and students and BOT makes this seem harder than in the past. I accept that is probably due to social media, but nonetheless, it does make a competitive, tough environment seem even harder. This is not 1968 anymore. Where do new students want to start their academic journey and for $90K a year is the question. Also, Columbia has one of the largest Jewish student bodies and a strong Middle East Studies department. Neither group are happy – my guess is the yield will be down with only 5 days left before May 1. But we shall see. I wonder if those on the waitlist will just move on themselves. It is not just Columbia, of course, but they are getting the headlines. I wouldn’t want to be the AO working this cycle!
I don’t think it’s enough to share the same worldview, and I’m not sure “most” do (many certainly). The number of students involved in the encampment represents less than 1% of Columbia’s student population. When they briefly thought they were going to be arrested again Tuesday night, that dropped down to about 0.14% of the students willing to stand their ground. There could be many prospective students who broadly agree with the worldview of the protestors but not enough to want to join a campus where their education and career may be compromised in the service of those beliefs. There’s a lot of students at Columbia right now upset about all the cancelation of classes and remote finals, the constant noise every night, the media circus, the extremists sneaking onto campus and the prospect of graduation being disrupted or canceled. They may choose what they believe to be a school where the prospect of virtual classes next fall if the encampment continues or returns is less likely, even if they are politically aligned with the protest. Of course they will need to choice carefully since there’s now several dozens colleges with their own encampments and arrests at several.
I don’t want this to devolve into a political debate, but as you suggest, things are no different at Harvard, Berkeley, Penn, Yale, etc. The social status conferred by a degree from these institutions far outweighs any bigotry or disruptions students may encounter on campus.
I don’t agree that “things are no different” at some of those other schools. I think Columbia is somewhat unique.
First, the encampment is unavoidable – right in the heart of campus, directly next to all the first year dorms, main library and student commons, etc. Columbia is the physically smallest Ivy (or Ivy+ college) in campus size but has one of the largest populations – so its dense and compact. Many of these other campuses are far bigger and except for select times getting to/from a class, students could avoid the disruption if they wanted to. Here the first years and some of the sophomores are hearing it 24/7 right out their windows, they need to stand in lines to go through security check points to get from one class to another or to their dorms, etc., they can’t invite anyone to their rooms because they can’t even get on campus. No other schools have this level of lock-down. And because it’s in NYC, there are also constant non-student protests going on just over the gate a couple hundred feet away, some of which have gotten physical. All of this is why they had to go virtual classes and finals, because the activities have so disrupted daily life there. Most of the spring arts activities – music, plays, dance, etc. – were either canceled or reduced in scope and performed with no almost audience because no one could come on campus to attend – a few happened as planned, usually if they could use a building with an external entrance. And the encampment is literally in the middle of where graduation is held so unless it’s resolved, that can’t happen.
Some of the other schools have not had the same outcome. Princeton arrested the two leaders of its attempted encampment within minutes of them starting to set it up and prevented student from doing so. Dartmouth hasn’t had one at all. Etc.
And no other school has been at the center of the firestorm like Columbia, which is why the President keeps mentioning it and Speaker Johnson showed up yesterday to hold a press conference. While most people who aren’t’ students or faculty can’t get on campus, it’s a non-stop conga line of major name politicians and pundits looking to get their face time to either laud or condemn the encampment.
If it continues or returns in the fall, it will not be business as usual. Classes will be online, activities will be canceled, etc. It will be like the first year of Covid but for a different reason.
Based on Bwog (Columbia Student News), the student protester leaders said this last night.
“We will be here until Commencement if that’s what it takes,” they said. “We will continue to engage with talks with the University until we get what we want.”
It implies that at least some of the protesters don’t intend to interrupt the Commencement.
I doubt the student movement will persist into the fall semester. As media fatigue sets in, public attention is likely to shift towards the US presidential election and any unforeseen scandals that may arise.
I think that’s a mischaracterization of what they are saying.
Here’s a link to the full article from Bwog:
https://bwog.com/2024/04/live-updates-gaza-solidarity-encampment-day-10/
Just above the section you quote they say:
Leaders reiterated that they will not move until they achieve divestment.
They also repeatedly say in the article that CUAD does not believe they have made much progress with the University and that the University does not appear to understand their goals or demands. Nothing in the tone or words of the spokespeople for the encampment suggests they believe they are on the verge of a breakthrough from their perspectives.
In that broader context, it is more likely the quote you references was their way of saying they will stay through Commencement if necessary, not that they would leave before it, unless the University meets their demands.
They offered even more clarity on that being their position in their press conference yesterday, covered in this Bwog article:
https://bwog.com/2024/04/columbia-university-apartheid-divest-holds-press-conference-to-address-negotiations-statuses/
Polat addressed recent rumors that the University will move students out of Columbia dorms before the end of the semester and stated that “it is in [CUAD’s best interest to reach an agreement before Commencement because we want students and families to be able to celebrate this milestone together on this campus.” Polat concluded that “successful negotiations are the only viable option to end this Encampment.”
Here they are making clear that while they would like to disband the encampment and hold graduation, that the only way they intend to do so if if the University meets their demands.
Separately late yesterday the University president and and co-chairs of the trustees put out a statement committing to not using NYPD again and previously said they would not use the National Guard. If taken at their word, that means they will not dismantle the encampment by force (hypothetically they could within the spirit of their message with their own security but that’s unlikely). In which case if they remain at impasse, that still places the camp in the way of graduation (or the university could attempt to move graduation elsewhere).
I would be looking to move graduation elsewhere anyway. Even if they do come to an “agreement” the scramble to set up for graduation might make it near impossible.
Hopefully and possibly they are looking for alternative locations. But it’s a massive event so the options will be limited. Columbia graduates about 16,000 students a year (they have about 36,000 total, but a large number of those are masters students who have shorter programs). Plus all the guests for them. Even if you limited to to 2 guests per graduate, that’s still about 50,000 people, plus thousands of faculty members.
There were unsubstantiated rumors they would use nearby Yankee Stadium. Who knows. I suspect at best it remains a “contingency plan” if they can’t close it first. They already started to setup the rest of the open space for commencement on spec, so they would only need to add seating to the area of the encampment lawn which is relatively contained. They even have already rolled in the stacks of seats they would put there and deployed them around the perimeter of the encampment.
As of late last night, some of the encampment students “occupied” Hamilton Hall, the most popular classroom building, and symbolically a building previously occupied in 1968 and in the '90’s apartheid protests. They have barricaded themselves inside and hung banners from the upper floors declaring intifada. The campus is now in full lock down. Even valid students who don’t live in a core campus dorm are not allowed in. Most of the on campus dorms are for first year students, with a couple exceptions, so the majority of students live in college-run off campus housing. Those students no longer have access to their dining halls, etc. This is the first of 3 “study period” days between the last classes yesterday and the first official finals Friday, so no classes are being impacted yet.
Eh. I’d say already having to go on line for the rest of the semester impacted classes. Are kids really getting the education they paid for when it goes on line?
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This has to start affecting yield
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The poor Class of 2024 ended their senior year of HS online, spend their entire Freshman year at Columbia online and now ended their time at Columbia online.
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Do you think more students will be accepted off the waitlist this year with everything going on?
I suspect so. That said, even with the waitlist used more this year, it will likely still be a relatively small number of people.
And now no large graduation for the seniors. I really wonder what people are thinking and doing.
Columbia is claiming there was a credible security threat that forced them to find another, more secure location and that they couldn’t find one available large enough for the full commencement.
Who knows, though I suspect it was more likely that they couldn’t figure out how to do it without the President losing face, either by having to not show for an event she is supposed to lead or by showing and having a mass of students and parents jeer or awkward silence her. They also likely would have had non-affiliate protesters outside the gates on either side of College Walk on Broadway and Amsterdam and both didn’t want that heckling during the event and didn’t want that optic as the parents arrived and departed.
There’s a petition circulating between students and parents to plead for them to change their minds and still hold commencement on campus, but it’s purely symbolic as there is zero chance of change at this point. It’s obvious the Administration decided to not hold graduation on campus at least 5 days ago (or sooner) when they abruptly stopped setting up for it (including never setting up on the former encampment lawn they allegedly needed to clear for that purpose). But they held off on an announcement as long as possible while they likely worked out the logistics where all the smaller class days are being held. To add insult to injury, they clearly intentionally leaked the news to the media hours before they send an email to students and parents so many people found out by reading article online before the university announcement. I have no idea who thought that was a good idea. My best SWAG is some insiders leaked it to score points with their media contacts.
Obviously most students and parents are upset. The class day events still happening are actually the better of the two ceremonies where each student walks up and gets a diploma. So if you had to keep one, it was the better one. But the main Commencement was the one with all the pageantry and drama. And having it on campus with Low and Alma Mater as the backdrop was part of the lure and lore.
There’s no trust in the Administration at this point, so many people suspect this was about face-saving more than a legit security threat. Even if there was a legit threat, they lost all credibility a while back so no one would have any basis to believe them now. It’s also sketchy that they stopped setting up almost a week ago but used the protection of the campus for graduation as their excuse for keeping most students locked out of campus since last week and for forcing finals to be virtual. So now it’s clear that was just an excuse. Most students haven’t even had access to the dining halls for their meal plans until this weekend and only limited access with less hours since then.
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Has anyone seen any movement on the waitlist today?
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I think none was expected until at least mid-May. And that was before the Admissions staff didn’t have access to campus for a week and the building they are housed became got trashed and is still being cleaned up.
Agree 100%… just had a glimpse of hope. lol Maybe next week! 