FIRST ON FOX: Columbia University President Minouche Shafik is urged to refund students who were inconvenienced and lost educational services they paid for with their tuition during the prolonged anti-Israel camp on campus.
“I am writing to urge you to refund Columbia students for the thousands of dollars in tuition and fees they paid to Columbia University while you allowed pro-Hamas rioters to prevent your institution from fulfilling its most basic obligation: to provide a quality education. quality,” said the senator. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., said in a letter to the university president.
The anti-Israel encampment, which saw intimidation and anti-Semitic language as well as the takeover of a campus building, began in mid-April and was not cleared until the end of the month.
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Senator Marco Rubio called on Minouche Shafik to reimburse Columbia University students who lost their education due to the camp that was allowed to escalate. (Getty Images)
According to the Florida senator, students are owed a refund for “the quality education they paid for.”
He noted that Jewish students were attacked and that the safety of everyone on campus was threatened. Notably, Jewish students were even told to leave campus by one rabbi, who claimed the school could not keep them safe amid the camp’s chaos, which included pro-Hamas chants and signs.
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The anti-Israel camp went on for weeks. (Rashid Umar Abbasi for Fox News Digital)
“It wasn’t until rioters stormed and occupied Columbia’s Hamilton Hall on April 30, nearly two weeks after you allowed protesters to reoccupy Columbia’s campus, that you finally invited the NYPD to respond and clear out the rioters,” Rubio reminded Shafik.
“However, by that time, security threats on campus had become so serious that it was forced to cancel Columbia’s undergraduate graduation ceremony and cancel in-person final exams,” he continued.
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There is speculation that Rubio could be former President Trump’s running mate. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
“Your failure to respond to lawless rioters caused many Columbia undergraduates to miss three weeks of in-person education,” the senator wrote.
He said nothing could “undo the damage” caused when the university allowed the camp to escalate, but encouraged it to refund students.
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Shafik and the administration were negotiating with the protesters. (Fox News Digital)
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“Basic calculations suggest that a refund of $6,400 per student would offset a three-week interruption in Columbia services,” he said, adding that no students who participated in the camps should be eligible.
Columbia University did not provide comment to Fox News Digital in time for publication.
