Following Lawfare Project's lawsuit, Columbia University updates its policy for campus protests

Two weeks ago, The Lawfare Project — together with co-counsel Eiseman Levine Lehrhaupt and Kakoyiannis, P.C. — filed a lawsuit against Columbia University on behalf of Mackenzie Forrest, a Jewish student who was the target of an alleged antisemitic retaliation campaign and was forced out of an academic program after she requested religious and safety accommodations. Shortly after the suit was filed, Columbia issued a new Interim University Policy for Safe Demonstrations on campus.

According to Columbia, "To ensure that academic life on campus is not disrupted by demonstrations, the interim policy does not allow protest activity in academic spaces."

Students participate in a protest outside of the Columbia University campus on November 15, 2023 in New York City. (Yahoo News)

Columbia is attempting to take steps to protect students on their campus from pro-Hamas mobs, but why is this only happening now? The administration has much more work to do to address underlying antisemitism,” said Brooke Goldstein, Founder and Executive Director of The Lawfare Project. “We filed our recent suit against the university because they failed to protect Mackenzie Forrest – a Jewish student – from alleged antisemitism and did not provide her with reasonable accommodations to engage in her academic career, to which she is legally entitled. We hope that Columbia and other higher education institutions create real systemic change to ensure that their students can learn in safe environments free from hate.”

The Lawfare Project's lawsuit seeks injunctive relief and monetary damages.