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Columbia's Climate of Fear Threatens Academic Freedom

4/10/2025

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Summary

Story summary

Marianne Hirsch, a professor at Columbia University, draws a poignant parallel between the detention of student Mahmoud Khalil and her own childhood in authoritarian Romania. She condemns Columbia for cultivating a climate of fear and betrayal, emphasizing that this repression endangers academic freedom and poses a grave threat to future generations of scholars.

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Story summary

Marianne Hirsch, a professor at Columbia University, draws a poignant parallel between the detention of student Mahmoud Khalil and her own childhood in authoritarian Romania. She condemns Columbia for cultivating a climate of fear and betrayal, emphasizing that this repression endangers academic freedom and poses a grave threat to future generations of scholars.