Dear readers,

Days after the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel and the onset of war in Gaza, hundreds of Columbia protesters packed campus on opposite sides of South Lawn. The demonstration marked the beginning of the University’s emergence as the nation’s epicenter of student activism and sparked lasting debates over divestment, free speech, antisemitism and Islamophobia, academic freedom, and more.

Columbia hit a flash point in April 2024, when the establishment of the first “Gaza Solidarity Encampment” collided with then-University President Minouche Shafik’s testimony before Congress about antisemitism on campus. Over the course of two weeks, the University witnessed a second iteration of the encampment, an ​​occupation of Hamilton Hall, two New York Police Department sweeps, the cancellation of Commencement, and a swarm of international media attention. Many of the same fractures Columbia experienced decades ago during the 1968 protests against the Vietnam War resurfaced, and the spring semester ended with a sense of deep community divide.

The summer, although comparatively quiet, proved eventful, too. Weeks before the start of the new academic year, Shafik announced that she would resign from the presidency only 13 months and 13 days into the job. The decision inspired a mix of shock, uncertainty, and cautious optimism among students and faculty alike as Katrina Armstrong stepped up into the role of interim University president.

As Columbia attempts to rebuild, gate closures and heightened security on campus remind us of over a year of tumult. Students gathered for large-scale protests on Oct. 7, campus organizations have renewed calls for the University to divest from Israel, congressional scrutiny has intensified, and concerns of antisemitism persist.

But, while Columbia’s future remains uncertain, efforts to encourage dialogue and heal our community have grown—along with a burgeoning sense of hope.

In this special edition, Spectator has compiled hundreds of articles, spanning everything from news to opinion to multimedia, to preserve the stories that have defined Columbia since Oct. 7, 2023. The title, “Columbia in Crisis,” pays homage to 1968 while referencing a descriptor used by stakeholders both inside and outside the University—including Spectator itself. We hope this edition, which will regularly update with our latest articles, serves as an archive of the war in Gaza’s profound impact on Columbia’s history and community.