In light of the arrest and detainment of anti-Israel student activist, Mahmoud Khalil, professors at Columbia are paying their respects by canceling in-person classes and even doling out classwide A grades in place of scheduled midterm exams. 

At least three faculty members sent out emails informing their students they had canceled classes or removed attendance requirements, according to emails obtained by the Free Beacon. 

Philosophy lecturer Ruairidh MacLeod excused his students from attending Monday’s class “out of sensitivity to the situation arising from the arrest of Mahmoud Khalil.” He welcomed his students to “get in touch” with any concerns he might “share with the administration or other college offices” and included links to various Columbia resources “for your own personal and academic wellbeing.”

English professor Joseph Albernaz went as far as to cancel his students’ midterm on Thursday and promised to give everyone an A grade on the exam. “I cannot see how I can hold a typical lass right now under these current conditions, nor how you can be expected to prepare for an exam,” Mr. Albernaz wrote, describing how he was “sickened” by the news of Mr. Khalil’s arrest. He encouraged his students to “speak with your classmates and treat one another with care and compassion.” 

A third teacher opted to cancel classes for the entire week, citing Columbia’s failure to issue an explanation “as to why or how this arrest was allowed” nor offer “any serious reassurances for international students who might be targeted further.” The instructor reasoned that it was “unsafe to continue teaching as usual.” 

The arrest over the weekend of Mr. Khalil — a Syrian national studying at Columbia through a visa and green card — sent shockwaves through the Morningside Heights university. 

Mr. Khalil, who is one of the leading organizers behind the anti-Israel student encampments that have roiled Columbia University’s campus since October 2023, was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers on Saturday on a State Department order to revoke his visa and green card. Late Monday, a judge temporarily barred his deportation, summoning both sides to a courtroom conference on Wednesday. 

The cancellations follow a campaign by Columbia Palestine Solidarity Coalition to urge professors to drop class requirements or move classes to Zoom in light of the “safety risks” of Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s presence on campus. 

On Monday morning, however, Columbia University’s provost, Angela Olinto, made clear that professors were required to hold all classes and exams in person. In a faculty-wide email, she urged them to demonstrate “generosity and mutual patience as we navigate this together, especially as students study for their midterms.” 

Ms. Olinto referenced the guidelines put forth by the faculty handbook which mandate in-person classes. She noted, however, that students “may always reach out to their teachers to request accommodation if they are unable to attend class.”

Columbia’s interim president, Katrina Armstrong, sent a university-wide email on Monday attempting to quell concerns about immigration officials on campus. “I understand the distress that many of you are feeling about the presence of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in the streets around campus,” Ms. Armstrong wrote. “I feel it too and am working with our team to manage the response.”

Ms. Armstrong assured that rumors of ICE’s presence on campus were “false” and added that “law enforcement must have a judicial warrant to enter non-public University areas, including residential University buildings.”

She conceded that the university was in a “challenging moment” but reiterated Columbia’s commitment to its core values: “freedom of expression, open inquiry, a wide range of perspectives, and respectful debate.” 

“These are Columbia’s values, they are America’s values, they are essential to a functioning democracy, and we will fight for them,” Ms. Armstrong wrote. “We do this for our students and for our future.”