Columbia Law School has postponed all final exams scheduled for Wednesday amid ongoing turmoil over pro-Palestinian protesters encamped at the Manhattan university’s campus.
Law Dean Gillian Lester told students in a message on Tuesday evening that Wednesday’s finals would be postponed to ensure student safety and well-being and promised further information about Thursday’s exams.
Hours earlier, New York City police swept onto campus and arrested dozens of protesters who occupied a campus building.
“This has been a trying day, amidst a trying two weeks, and the crisis on campus has left no member of our community unaffected,” Lester wrote, adding that students who live near the embattled campus have had trouble sleeping, focusing, and getting around the neighborhood.
While campus protests over the war in Gaza have emerged at universities across the country, the situation at Columbia has been one of the longest running and most high-profile.
The protesters are demanding that Columbia divest from companies supporting Israel’s government.
Relocating exams
At least one other law school has modified its final exam plan due to student protests. George Washington University Law School told students on April 25 that final exams would be moved to new locations to avoid any disruptions or distractions from the protester encampment located on a lawn next to the law school, though law dean Dayna Bowen Matthew told students in a video message they were not at risk.
A Colorado paramedic convicted in the 2019 death of Elijah McClain was sentenced Friday to 14 months in a work-release program and four years of probation.
At Columbia, protesters have maintained an encampment on a university lawn for the past two weeks. The situation escalated in recent days as Columbia threatened to suspend participating students.
Columbia University Tuesday morning closed its campus and all buildings—including the law school and the law library—to everyone but essential employees and residents of several dorms. Columbia Law’s final exams began on Monday for second and third-year students, and first-year finals began on Tuesday.
Because the main campus was closed, however, the law school gave students with Tuesday finals the option to take those exams remotely or postpone them to a future day. Final exams for most other academic programs at Columbia are not slated to start until Friday.
Final exams are extremely important for law students, particularly those in their first year. Those scores dictate most or all of a student’s grade in many classes, and strong first-year grades are a key to landing sought-after positions such as federal clerkships and summer associate positions at large law firms.
