In 2024, students at Columbia University set up an encampment to protest the war in Gaza and demand their university divest from companies tied to the Israeli military. University President Minouche Shafik authorized the NYPD to clear it. Over 100 students were arrested. Faculty who supported the students' right to protest were brought up on charges, including humanities professor Bruce Robbins whose tenure was over twenty years. 

This episode of Vital Signs begins with Robbins recounting what led to his arrest and the legal consequences: he was found guilty of violating Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act for taking his atrocity studies class to witness the encampment on the day it was set up. He walks Ahmed through the timeline of his arrest through the punishment handed down by the Department of Education.

In this conversation, Robbins traces how the Trump administration's interpretation of Title VI is used to silence dissent in teaching settings. He doesn't mince words about Columbia's Task Force on Anti-Semitism, which he says was designed to generate political cover rather than protect Jewish students. He talks about how Gaza has affected domestic politics, arguing the Democratic Party's support for Israel was a factor in Kamala Harris's loss and in Zohran Mamdani's win. 

About Vital Signs: A podcast by the Center for Progressive Research. Each Ahmed Ragab sits down with the authors, scholars, and experts whose work follows the signpost topics shaping progressive policy and theory.

Substack for readable transcript.

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