Columbia’s prestige and proximity to Wall Street makes it a fixture of the finance world. The Eye explored the ways five students entering the industry reckon with the allure and toll of the Columbia finance pipeline.
Read more at the link in bio 🔗
Article by Mackenzie Duff
Illustration by Eva Vu Stern
Israeli President Isaac Herzog has canceled his in-person appearance as commencement speaker for the 2026 Jewish Theological Seminary commencement, opting instead to deliver his remarks virtually, JTS Chancellor Shuly Rubin Schwartz, BC ’74, announced in a Thursday email to the JTS community.
Herzog, who has served as president of Israel since 2021, wrote that his in-person cancellation was due to circumstances that “prevent my travel to New York at this time” in a letter to Schwartz, which she shared in her email. The change comes after Herzog’s announcement as commencement speaker sparked internal discourse at JTS and community backlash from pro-Palestinian affiliates. Columbia and Barnard both run dual degree programs with JTS.
Editor’s note: The headline of this article has been updated to better reflect the nature of Herzog’s cancellation. It now reads “Israeli President Isaac Herzog cancels in-person attendance at JTS commencement.“
Read more at the link in bio 🔗
Article by Pedro Meerbaum
Photo by Marcus Bui
For the first time since the Columbia University and Slavery seminar began in 2014, students have identified a living descendant of someone enslaved by a Columbia affiliate.
The finding came after six students, five of whom are in the seminar, led a group research initiative this fall to trace descendants of people enslaved by families connected to the University’s founding and early history.
At an April 29 event presenting their research and findings, professor Karl Jacoby, who is part of the faculty collective that teaches the seminar each fall, introduced Chris Rabb, whose ancestors were enslaved by the Livingston family, one of Columbia’s founding families. Livingston family members predominantly served as governors, regents, trustees, and administrators of King’s College—which later became Columbia College—in the 18th century.
“The University is supposed to be a place in which people become better,” Tia Abdul-Wasi, a Graduate School of Arts and Sciences student on the research team, said. “But are we better if the way that we are sustaining ourselves is through the harm, dispossession, and death of others?”
Read more in the link in bio 🔗
Article by Mutashma Shaaf
Photo courtesy of Tia Abdul-Wasi
Over 100 pro-Palestinian protesters marched from Columbia’s 116th Street and Amsterdam Avenue gates to the City College of New York campus on 139th Street on April 30, the two-year anniversary of both schools’ “Gaza Solidarity Encampments.”
In a statement to Spectator, a CUNY spokesperson wrote, “CUNY remains committed to open dialogue, academic freedom, and free speech, while working to maintain an inclusive, discrimination-free environment conducive to learning.”
The University did not respond to requests for comment but has previously condemned pro-Palestinian campus protests for violating University policy and creating a discriminatory environment.
Columbia has repeatedly rejected proposals to divest from Israel.
Read more at the link in bio 🔗
Video by Elliot Heath
Surina Venkat contributed reporting
Additional footage by Wyatt King
As Columbia prepares to issue $485 million in bonds to fund capital projects this month, the University’s prime credit rating may be under threat.
Moody’s Ratings, a prominent credit rating agency, downgraded Columbia’s credit outlook from “stable” to “negative” on May 1, citing federal regulatory shifts and Columbia’s lower cash reserves compared to peer institutions.
Despite downgrading the University’s credit outlook, Moody’s affirmed Columbia’s Aaa credit rating—the highest the firm issues—for the upcoming bond sale, citing Columbia’s “prestigious reputation” and “substantial financial resources and scale.” With an Aaa rating, the University has access to billions of dollars in bonds at favorable interest rates.
Columbia is considering issuing about $485 million in bonds later in May, a University spokesperson wrote in a statement to Spectator. Columbia plans on using part of the offering to finance capital projects, according to the spokesperson, including new student housing and research facilities, as well as the renovation of the Li Lu Law Library, which opened Dec. 5, 2025.
Acting University President Claire Shipman, CC ’86, SIPA ’94, addressed the credit outlook revision at a Friday University Senate plenary, saying it was based on the “tough headwinds we’re facing.”
Read more at the link in bio 🔗
Article by Matt Luo
Photo by Zohar Ford
Columbia Dining’s annual Surf and Turf event, hosted at Ferris Booth Commons and John Jay Dining Hall, drew hundreds. Spectator asked attendees their thoughts on the event and the food.
Video by Chris Perez, Zoë Powell-McCroey, and Anna Strbka
Reporter Alexander Miles, CC ’29, takes a walk through Morningside Heights with community advocate Dan McSweeney, SIPA ’07, to explore the neighborhood’s changing commercial landscape.
Read more at the link in bio 🔗
Podcast by Alexander Miles
Illustration by Sally Weitzner
Mohsen Mahdawi, GS ’25, SIPA ’27, spoke alongside other Columbia affiliates and pro-Palestinian activists at a People’s Forum event April 27, discussing protest movements at Columbia and efforts to shift American foreign policy in the Middle East.
The University did not respond to Spectator’s requests for comment on the event in time for publication.
Read more at the link in bio 🔗
Video by Elliot Heath
Additional reporting by Daksha Pillai, Shayan Chowdhury, and Simon Leton
CourseWorks access has been restored after its parent company, Instructure, was hacked earlier this week, leading to a shutdown for nearly 9,000 colleges and universities. The shutdown comes amid students’ finals week at Columbia.
The restoration was announced in a Thursday afternoon email to the Columbia community from Provost Angela Olinto; Anne Sullivan, executive vice president for finance and technology; and Rich Hall, interim chief information officer and vice president of Columbia University Information Technology. The email added that individual schools and professors would contact students regarding changes to final exams or assignment deadlines.
“We are deeply grateful to our entire community for your patience and understanding as we navigate this complex and understandably frustrating situation,” the email continues.
Columbia and Barnard announced in Thursday night emails that final exams will go on as planned despite the disruption, and there are no anticipated changes to the exam schedule.
The hackers, a group known as ShinyHunters, posted a message on CourseWorks Thursday threatening to release affiliate data unless Instructure contacts them by May 12.
Read more at the link in bio 🔗
Article by Aubrey Rogers
Photo by Jackson Dilks
Mohsen Mahdawi, GS ’25, SIPA ’27, is urging a federal appellate court to intervene in his deportation case after the Board of Immigration Appeals reversed a judge’s decision to terminate his case on April 29, thereby reinstating his deportation proceedings.
In a Tuesday letter to the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Mahdawi’s legal team called for a federal habeas review to consider the “lawfulness” of Mahdawi’s detention. His lawyers, including the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation and the CLEAR Project, argued that Mahdawi’s detention infringed on his constitutional right to free speech and that the immigration system cannot address the claim.
The recent decision from the Board of Immigration Appeals revives the federal government’s efforts to deport the Palestinian advocate, who was first detained in April 2025 at a naturalization appointment in Vermont, where he remained in custody for 16 days before a federal judge ordered his release. The board, an administrative court under the Justice Department, has overwhelmingly sided with the Department of Homeland Security in recent months as President Donald Trump has sought to reshape it, slashing its size by nearly half.
Read more at the link in bio 🔗
Article by Pedro Meerbaum
Photo by Lukas Roybal
Columbia is investigating a widespread CourseWorks outage on Thursday afternoon that denied Columbia affiliates access to the site and mobile app needed to submit assignments, access course materials, and take exams. The outage, which occurred on the third day of reading week, is part of a widespread hack on CourseWorks’ parent company, Instructure, that stole data from over 9,000 schools.
Upon opening the site, users’ screens display a statement from the hacker group, ShinyHunters, threatening to release affiliate data and stating that Instructure has until the end of the day on May 12 to contact the group.
“ShinyHunters has breached Instructure (again),” the group wrote. “Instead of contacting us to resolve it they ignored us and did some ‘security patches.’”
Columbia announced the investigation in a Thursday statement on its Office of Public Affairs website. The University first announced the breach in a statement Wednesday, the day before the hacker group posted its message on CourseWorks. Instructure informed Columbia of the breach, the statement read, and its investigation remains ongoing. Columbia University Information Technology took additional “precautionary steps” to secure University systems, according to the statement.
The breach is Columbia’s second in the last year following a hack in summer 2025 that resulted in a dayslong IT outage and stole personal information from applicants to Columbia and Barnard, including social security numbers. The scope of the data stolen by ShinyHunters, which they claim includes names, personal email addresses, and private messages between professors and students, appears more narrow than the summer 2025 hack.
Read more at the link in bio 🔗
Article by Aubrey Rogers
Photo by Jackson Dilks
At the very end of Columbia’s 47-page review of the University Senate, following a list of recommendations and an analysis of the University governance structure, lies a distinct document addressed to the University’s board of trustees.
The final appendix item, “Appendix R,” is a legal opinion letter written by Sullivan & Cromwell, a law firm headquartered in New York City. The letter confirms the trustees’ final and absolute governing power over the University and comes amid continued criticisms over the perceived erosion of shared governance at the University.
Read more at the link in bio 🔗
Article by Celine Chien
Photo by Zohar Ford
