In the “One Dollar Pledge,” alumni wrote an open letter to the University and committed to donating only $1 to Columbia “not in anger, but in sadness and in hope” until they see the University “stand on the right side of history, against hate.”

“I cannot in good conscience stand by idly while my university refuses to take all necessary steps to end antisemitism on campus and fails to unequivocally call out the barbarity of Hamas, whose evil actions are not only directed at the people of Israel but also the civilians of Gaza each and every day,” the open letter reads.

Two billionaire alumni have publicly cut ties with Columbia. Leon Cooperman, Business ’67, vowed to stop donations to Columbia, and Henry Swieca, Business ’83, resigned from the Business School board, both citing rising antisemitism on campus and an inadequate University response.

The University has also postponed its annual Giving Day, which was scheduled to take place in October.

The pledge is led by freelance consultant Victor Muslin, SEAS ’82, and television sportscaster and former Spectator sports editor Sam Marchiano, CC ’89.

Muslin wrote in a statement to Spectator that he has been “monitoring and fighting against antisemitism at Columbia for a long time.” He previously led Columbia’s chapter of Alums for Campus Fairness and worked with the group Students Supporting Israel. During this time, he founded CU-Monitor, an online platform created to “track, expose and combat Zionophobia in academia,” according to the website.

Muslin now works with the organization Students and Faculty for Equality on Campus, which advocates for “Zionist Jews discriminated against and excluded on college campuses.” Muslin is also one of the leaders of the Flip Your Diploma movement.

Marchiano—who identifies herself as an “ally to the Jewish community on the Columbia campus”—said that she found University President Minouche Shafik’s Oct. 10 statement following Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel “deeply upsetting.”

“I think without that unequivocal condemnation, it created a tacit support for the pro-Palestinian protesters,” she said. “I don’t think it also provided the Jewish community on campus the support that they needed in that moment.”

Marchiano explained that when she attended Columbia, there were protests urging the University to divest during South African apartheid. This moment is different because it is “pitting student groups against one another,” according to Marchiano. “It’s a much more combustible situation that requires very clear and strong leadership to navigate it.”

She began working with Muslin on the One Dollar Pledge and said she crafted most of the campaign’s language.

A spokesperson for the Office of Alumni and Development wrote in a statement to Spectator that “since the start of the war in Israel and Gaza, the Columbia alumni and donor community has expressed their support and concern in different ways.”

“They are deeply committed to and engaged with the University and the world at large, and we respect their choice to express their views and take action,” the spokesperson wrote.

The idea for the One Dollar Pledge initially came from Marc Rowan, CEO of the private equity firm Apollo Global Management, who committed to reducing his donations to the University of Pennsylvania and asked other donors to only give $1. Rowan’s past contributions have included a $50 million donation to the Wharton School, the largest donation the school had ever received.

After discovering that members of the Harvard Jewish Alumni Association had created a similar pledge in protest of Harvard’s response to the Oct. 7 attack, Marchiano and Muslin connected with them, creating their own letter and website.

Roni Brunn, a spokesperson for the One Dollar Pledge at Harvard, said that, following a statement signed by over 30 student groups that held Israel “entirely responsible” for the Oct. 7 attack and the university’s lack of a statement, Jewish Harvard alumni created the Harvard Jewish Alumni Alliance. She explained that a group of alumni started the One Dollar Pledge to “eradicate this antisemitism,” mentioning incidents of violence, intimidation, and antisemitic posts on platforms like Sidechat.

“When we fight against antisemitism, we are fighting for restoring academic integrity,” she said. “And we are working with alumni groups from other schools because we really believe in this platform.”

At Harvard, the open letter has been signed by over 2,000 alumni and approximately 200 people made the $1 pledge as of Monday, according to Brunn. She said that while the One Dollar Pledge is currently only active at Columbia and Harvard, leaders of the pledge are in touch with other Ivy League alumni, hoping to expand the program and insist that universities fight antisemitism.

The One Dollar Pledge at Columbia is run entirely by volunteers, who have been using WhatsApp and Facebook to promote the cause.

“Donations are vital to the university for many reasons. They add up. They provide valuable feedback to the university. They build a pipeline. And they inspire others,” the open letter reads.

Marchiano said that the purpose of the pledge and network is not only for smaller donors to make a statement in support of the Jewish community, but also to encourage larger donors to take a stance by feeling that they are part of a movement.

“Hopefully that grassroots support encourages some of the larger donors from protesting their support as well so that they’re not necessarily outliers, but they’re in step with how the donor community at large feels,” she said.

Marchiano emphasized that while the pledge seems like a stance against the University, it comes from her love of the institution.