Charles Langston:3 Columbia University administrators ousted from posts over controversial texts

Columbia removes 3 deans accused of mocking Jewish students, staff in group text message

NEW YORK -- Three administrators have been "permanently removed from their positions" at Columbia College and "remain on leave" over texts they exchanged during an on-campus event about Jewish life at the school, Columbia University President Minouche Shafik announced Monday.

It happened during the school's reunion weekend at the end of May. The program was called "Jewish Life on Campus: Past, Present and Future," and took place a month after university leaders called in police to clear pro-Palestinian protesters out of an occupied administration building and dismantle a tent encampment that had threatened to disrupt graduation ceremonies.

The university identified the administrators as Cristen Kromm, the dean of undergraduate student life; Matthew Patashnick, the associate dean for student and family support; and Susan Chang-Kim, the vice dean and chief administrative officer. They were initially put on leave in June after images of their text exchange were published online by the Washington Free Beacon, a conservative news outlet. The content of the texts was additionally released by the House Committee on Education and the Workforce last week.

Among the texts released, Patashnick said of one of the Jewish speakers speaking about antisemitism on campus, "He knows exactly what he's doing and how to take full advantage of this moment. Huge fundraising potential."

In response to a student telling her story of how she was afraid during the protests, and felt more comfortable spending time in the Kraft Center where Hillel is, Cromm wrote, "Amazing what $$$$ can do."

One dean implicated allowed to stay on

Columbia College Dean Josef Sorett, whose text messages were among those published by the Free Beacon, will continue to lead the college after apologizing and committing to work on fixing the damage caused by the text exchanges, Columbia Provost Angela Olinto said. He and his administration will be expected to "deliver concrete change in combating antisemitism and discrimination and creating a fully inclusive environment," Olinto wrote.

"While not intended as such, some of the text messages exchanged may call to mind antisemitic tropes," Sorett said in a letter Monday to the Columbia College community. "Any language that demeans members of our community, or divides us from one another, is simply unacceptable."

"I am deeply sorry that this happened in a community that I lead, and that I was part of any of the exchanges, and I pledge to spearhead the change we need to ensure this never happens again," Sorett continued. He said "the loss of trust and the pain this incident has caused, particularly to the Jewish members of our community, must be fully repaired."

Texts "touched on ancient antisemitic tropes"

In a letter released Monday, Shafik said the comments were "not only unprofessional, but also disturbingly touched on ancient antisemitic tropes. Whether intended as such or not, these sentiments are unacceptable and deeply upsetting, conveying a lack of seriousness about the concerns and the experiences of members of our Jewish community that is antithetical to our University's values and the standards we must uphold in our community."

Columbia's president said the school will "launch a vigorous program of antisemitism and antidiscrimination training for faculty and staff this fall." Similar training will also be given to students.

Olinto wrote that the administrators' conduct was "wrong and contrary to the mission and values of our institution. It revealed, at best, an ignorance of the history of antisemitism."

"It's antisemitic tropes that we've heard before and we've seen where that's gone," Columbia rising senior Mikael Rochman said. "We were put in a situation where our safety was at risk and we didn't feel comfortable being Jewish on campus."

In:
• Religion
• Columbia University
• Education
• Antisemitism

Jesse Zanger

Jesse Zanger is managing editor of CBS New York. Jesse has previously worked for the Fox News Channel and Spectrum News NY1. He covers regional news around the Tri-State Area, with a particular focus on breaking news and extreme weather.