The judges cited concerns over the university becoming 'an incubator of bigotry'
Thirteen federal judges, all appointed by former US President Donald Trump, have announced they will no longer hire clerks who graduate from Columbia University or Columbia Law School, the ABA Journal reported.
This decision follows the university’s handling of campus disruptions by pro-Palestinian protesters. The judges, expressing their stance in a letter dated May 6 to Columbia University's president, cited concerns over the university becoming “an incubator of bigotry.”
In the letter, the judges stated they have lost confidence in the institution, and their boycott will apply to the undergraduate and law school classes of 2024 unless significant changes are made.
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The letter accused Columbia of becoming "ground zero for the explosion of student disruptions, antisemitism, and hatred for diverse viewpoints" following the October 7 terrorist attack by Hamas. According to the judges, professors and administrators have played a central role in these disruptions, highlighting what the judges described as the university's "ideological homogeneity."
The lead signers of the letter include Judge James C. Ho of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans, Judge Elizabeth L. Branch of the 11th Circuit in Atlanta, and Judge Matthew H. Solomson of the U.S. Court of Federal Claims. In prior years, Judges Ho and Branch had announced similar boycotts of Yale Law School and Stanford Law School over concerns of stifling diverse viewpoints.
In their letter, the judges called for Columbia to take several actions:
- Impose "serious consequences" for students and faculty who participated in campus disruptions and violated established rules.
- Eliminate favoritism for certain viewpoints in the enforcement of campus rules, suggesting that if the university faced a campus uprising from religious conservatives, the response would have been different.
- Establish viewpoint diversity within the faculty and administration.
Other judges who signed the letter include Judge Alan Albright, Judge David Counts, Judge James W. Hendrix, Judge Matthew J. Kacsmaryk, Judge Jeremy D. Kernodle, Judge Tilman E. Self III, Judge Brantley Starr, Judge Drew B. Tipton, Judge Daniel M. Traynor, and Judge Stephen Alexander Vaden.
The judges' decision underscored ongoing tensions between some members of the judiciary and academic institutions regarding handling campus protests and promoting ideological diversity.