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Columbia Alumni Burn Diplomas to Protest Campus Repression Against Pro-Palestinian Students

HeadlineMay 23, 2025

Here in New York, alumni from Columbia and Barnard ripped up and burned their diplomas outside their alma mater Wednesday to protest the repression of free speech and persecution of pro-Palestinian student protesters on campus. This is Jeanie Dubnau, a Barnard graduate from the class of 1960.

Jeanie Dubnau: “My parents came here to escape the fascism in Nazi Germany. And now I’m finding that we are facing fascism here in the United States, and Columbia University is opening its arms to this fascist government.”

In related news, students and staff at the University of Oregon have joined hunger strikers across the country, demanding their school divest from Israel and protect free speech on campus. Hunger strikes are also ongoing at Yale, Stanford and at California State University schools.

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