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Columbia University has settled a lawsuit filed by a Jewish student in late April on behalf of all those who felt pressured to switch to online learning in the midst of intense pro-Palestinian protests this spring. The plaintiff alleged the Ivy League institution failed to provide the safe environment students had paid for.

The resolution, reached Tuesday, centers on a pledge from university officials to provide protection for students on campus at all times via a “Safe Passage Liaison,” who will have the authority to open alternative entrances and exits to students and will coordinate 24-hour security escorts upon request.

Columbia also agreed to promote discussions that will encourage alternatives to some of the more extreme forms of protest, as well as to consider academic accommodations for students who missed end-of-term deadlines due to protest-related campus closures.

“We think peaceful protest is a constructive way to solve situations,” Jay Edelson, an attorney for the anonymous plaintiff, told The Washington Post. But at Columbia, protesters tried to “push out, figuratively and literally, people who they deem are on the wrong side.” 

According to the settlement, such actions created a threatening environment in which some Jewish students were subjected to antisemitism and feared for their safety.

“We got a focused security monitor who’s going to be able to serve as the eyes, ears and voice for anyone on campus who feels unsafe,” Edelson said. “That is a major win.”

The university expressed similar satisfaction with the settlement. 

“We are pleased we have been able to come to a resolution and remain committed to our number one priority: the safety of our campus so that all of our students can successfully pursue their education and meet their academic goals,” university spokesman Ben Chang said in an email to The Post.

This is likely the first of many settlements to be reached, as Columbia—and other institutions—face numerous lawsuits and investigations from protesters on both sides of the Israel-Gaza conflict for allegedly failing to protect them after the war started last October and following President Minouche Shafik’s Capitol Hill hearing, which escalated tensions on many campuses.