Jewish students at Columbia and Barnard fear professors canceled classes because of “stress” after the election, but not after Oct. 7

Professors at two prestigious New York universities gave struggling students unsettled by Tuesday’s election results an excuse to skip classes this week – infuriating their fellow Jewish students during the months-long anti-Israel campus protests that included participants who openly praised Hamas and hurled genocidal slogans, no such clemency was granted after October 7th.

“Colombia has a serious problem with neutrality. For an institution that claims to care so much about equality and justice, its empathy clearly does not extend to Jews,” student Eliana Goldin told The Post.

“I’m sure if Harris had won, the university wouldn’t have canceled classes.”

Left-wing professors at Barnard and Columbia — two elite schools that became epicenters of disruptive and at times violent anti-Israel protests last year — sent heartfelt emails to students Wednesday urging them to take it easy .

The messages were peppered with words suggesting that their students had just experienced tragedy after former Republican President Donald Trump’s historic defeat of Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris in the election on Tuesday.

“I hope you all take care of this. “I recognize that processing the results of a national election can be difficult and that having room to breathe and moving a little slower is critical,” Barnard Professor Amelia Simone Herbert wrote to students in her “Race, Space and Urban Schools”.

When her letter announcement class was about to be canceled, she readily offered to “stay in the room for anyone who would like to use it as a work space or a space to reflect with others.”

Michelle Greene, an associate professor of international and public affairs at Columbia University — whose bio shows she served on the Obama administration’s White House Council on Women and Girls — announced she was canceling classes altogether because it would be “tone deaf” to continue with the lesson plan.

“I have decided to cancel our class today. Current events would make it difficult to focus on factorial ANOVA, and although I had planned an alternative talk on modern survey methods and their blind spots, giving it today feels a little tone-deaf,” Greene wrote.

“Be good to yourself, check in with your friends,” she urged.

Marjorie Folkman, an associate professor of professional practice at Barnard, has taken the accommodating step of making her classes optional on Wednesday so that students can “use class time to connect with friends and loved ones and get an hour of sleep to to exchange ideas.” [or] Take a walk.”

Goldin started a thread

Goldin said “numerous” other classes were canceled Wednesday, although professors did not directly indicate that their actions were related to Trump’s clear election victory.

“But it’s easy to read between the lines,” she said.

Some professors weren’t so quick to treat students with kid gloves, like Columbia University psychology professor George Bonanno, who was adamant he wouldn’t cancel classes.

“I honestly believe that students’ mental health issues have been completely exaggerated. They’re not falling apart as much as people think,” he told The Post, noting that he voted for Harris.

A CU student, who wished to remain anonymous for fear of reprisal, told The Post that one class was canceled on Wednesday but the rest of the day went “as usual.”

“The professor sent the memo about an hour before Pennsylvania was called for Trump by the Decision Desk,” they said.

Other students said they understood the decision to suspend classes.

“It’s important to be with people you trust when big things happen,” said one Columbia student, admitting that she “didn’t focus much on her studies” after the election.

“Very insightful”

But for Jewish students, many of whom feel the school has inadequately responded to anti-Semitic protests on campus over the past year, the decision to suspend classes in light of Election Day seems disproportionate.

A Columbia student who wore a silver Star of David pendant and refused to give his name excoriated the prestigious institution for what he called its established “double standards” when it comes to the safety of Jewish students.

He said he disagrees with the university releasing students from classes because of election-related stress.

“People are stressed about homework. It’s part of life. Get used to it,” he told the Post.

“This is where the double standards come into play. They protect people from stress, but when several Jewish students say, ‘Hey, not only are we stressed, but we’re scared for our lives,’ not once have they canceled class. “he said.

“It wasn’t until the fear came through and the students took over the building,” he said, referring to the April 30 occupation and vandalism of Columbia’s historic Hamilton Hall.

A Columbia School of Engineering graduate said the university’s different approaches to student stress after the election reveal a lot about the university’s priorities.

“It is very telling that some in the Colombian community feel more threatened by the results of a democratic election than by openly violent terrorists threatening to burn down Western civilization,” he said.

“I, like many of my Jewish and Israeli classmates, was intimidated by both students and faculty.”

While professors Herbert, Green and Folkman did not immediately respond to a request for comment, a Columbia spokesperson told The Post on Thursday that there were “no reports of canceled courses.”

“Columbia faculty and students were in class yesterday and our academic schedule was in full swing as usual.”

Ari Shrage, head of the Jewish Alumni Association of Columbia, said he was disappointed but not surprised by his alma mater’s double standards.

“Unfortunately, that was predictable. “There is no chance they would have canceled classes if Kamala had won,” he said.

“But when Jewish students were upset about October 7th, they did not cancel classes. When Jews were harassed on campus by pro-Palestinian mobs or professors moved their courses to the camps, they did not cancel classes.

“Instead, they coddle students who pay $90,000 a year because they are ‘sad’ that Trump won the election,” he added.