WE STAND IN SOLIDARITY WITH THOUSANDS OF ALUMNI AND THEIR STATEMENTS

We, the alumni of Columbia University and Barnard College, write to announce a boycott of the upcoming Columbia College, SEAS, and Barnard alumni reunions, scheduled for May 30th to May 31st. We will be redirecting the money that would otherwise have gone towards tickets to reunion events, as well as all other alumni donations, to direct aid to Palestine and legal aid for students facing deportation or discrimination from DHS and ICE.

We are unable to reconcile the University’s recent actions with the values and principles that defined our education at Columbia and Barnard. The University administration’s brutal repression of student and faculty voices, and the use of law enforcement against peaceful protestors, have forced us to remove ourselves from any and all initiatives sponsored by the current Columbia University administration until these wrongs are rectified. 

We join thousands of alumni from 20+ organizations in signing onto an alumni petition expressing our complete and unwavering support for students' right to free speech and assembly, and on-campus advocacy for the dignity and human rights of Palestinians. 

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 petition. 

We will be hosting alternative reunion events on Friday, May 31, and Saturday, June 1, in solidarity with student and faculty protestors and unaffiliated with Columbia University. 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 the following causes:

• United Nations Relief and Works Agency: UNRWA USA is an independent nonprofit supporting the work of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East through fundraising, education, and advocacy

• Palestine Children’s Relief Fund: The PCRF is a legally-registered non-political, non-profit, 501(c)3 tax-exempt organization established in 1991 by concerned people to address the medical and humanitarian needs of Palestinian and Arab youths in the Middle East. 

• Freedom Bakeries

  Freedom Bakeries serves warm meals at various displaced persons camps, conducts packaged food and fresh bread distributions, and provides financial support for Palestinian families who’ve found refuge in Egypt.

• Emergency Tent Support by Translating Palestine

  The “Sameer Abu Salim Tent Initiative” is a GoFundMe run by Columbia alums on the ground that secures, purchases, and distributes tents in Southern Gaza. It also supplies cash envelops on an “as needed” basis to allow families the independence to secure the specific aid they require for themselves. Pls write “CU ALT Reunion” in your donation so we can track our fundraising!

Please also consider donating directly to families on the ground in Palestine through Operation Olive Branch’s spreadsheet of verified GoFundMes, available here.