WE STAND IN SOLIDARITY WITH THOUSANDS OF ALUMNI AND THEIR STATEMENTS*

We, the alumni of Columbia University and Barnard College, are boycotting the upcoming Columbia College, SEAS, GS, and Barnard ten-year reunions scheduled for May 29-31, 2025. The University’s brutal repression of student and faculty voices, use of law enforcement against peaceful protestors, and collaboration with ICE and DHS have forced us to take a moral stand. As these actions fundamentally contradict the values the University claims to uphold, we have chosen to disengage from any and all initiatives under its current leadership.

Columbia has never been about the administration; it's always been about the students. We join thousands of alumni from over 20 organizations in signing onto a petition expressing our unwavering support for students' right to free speech and assembly, and on-campus advocacy against the genocide in Palestine. We call upon the University to meet the demands of student protestors for divestment from companies supporting Israel’s government, disclosure of those investments, full amnesty for students and professors unfairly disciplined for exercising their free speech in calling for freedom, safety, and self-determination for the Palestinian people, and all other demands outlined in detail in our letter to Columbia President Claire Shipman. 

For a second year in a row, we will be hosting events on Friday, May 30th and Saturday, May 31st unaffiliated with Columbia University, in solidarity with student and faculty protestors. This alternative reunion is welcome to all who feel similarly or wish to learn more in good faith. Our alumni donations and reunion ticket events will be redirected from Columbia University to direct aid in Palestine and legal aid for students who have been harmed by Columbia and Barnard’s disciplinary repression.

* columbiaspectator.com/news/2025/04/15/hands-off-our-university-faculty-rally-against-federal-oversight-of-columbia.    columbiaalumniforacademicfreedom.org