Minouche Shafik wanted “a reorganization of our societies” to create “a more generous and inclusive society”.
Instead, she had to cancel the start.
The president of Columbia University is part of the progressive elite who encouraged a generation to become activists — but, now that their students are pitching tents and breaking windows in the name of Palestine, they are reaping the consequences of creating of these self-righteous monsters.
In her 2021 book, “What We Owe Ourselves: A New Social Contract for a Better Society,” Shafik seemed eager to usher in radical change, powered by a new generation of activists.
“Here we again need a new paradigm,” writes Shafik. “Profound changes…. have revealed the extent to which our existing social contract no longer works.
Shafik’s carefully polished CV: the World Bank; the International Monetary Fund; a stint as a senior British civil servant promoting “international development”; the presidency of the London School of Economics, a hyper-elite school; and teaching assignments at Georgetown and the Wharton School of Business – place her firmly at the heart of the elite academic machine.
His resume – and pro-activist stance – is precisely what the higher education elite selects for.
It is full of causes and organizations where pieties and reality rarely collide. An elite whose members are protected by extreme privilege from the consequences of their actions.
The lack of diversity – of viewpoints and socio-economic classes – is precisely why higher education is suffering. And why left-wing politics can go virtually unchecked on campus.
Shafik certainly got more than she hoped for, as her students passionately embraced the pro-Palestinian cause and a new paradigm she didn’t see coming.
They pitched tents, shouted through bullhorns and took over the campus.
When protesters (joined by outside agitators) forcibly took control of Hamilton Hall in the name of Palestine – smashing windows, using campus furniture as barricades and displaying an “Intifada” poster through a window – Shafik had to allow NYPD officers in riot gear. to evacuate the campers and arrest more than 100 of them.
Even after weeks of disruption, the situation remains so tumultuous on campus that the university cannot function properly: final exams are being held remotely and seniors, who were unable to attend the graduation ceremony secondary school due to the pandemic, will now no longer have one. again thanks to campus agitators.
It’s certainly a new paradigm. And that’s exactly what campus leaders were asking for: They didn’t realize it.
Shafik’s book filled with jargon and academic gibberish calls on society to hold those in power accountable.
“Achieving a better social contract ultimately means increasing the accountability of our political systems,” she writes.
And, within their university system, Columbia students seem to think they are doing just that – defending the “little guys” of Gaza, and also tearing down the “power structures” of campus leaders.
“Moments of crisis are also moments of opportunity,” Shafik writes in his book. His students certainly took the opportunity of the war in the Middle East to promote their own conceptions of justice.
Student activists have been repeatedly screwed over in pursuit of their cause.
When student protesters became upset with Trump’s election, some campuses canceled classes to accommodate them. When Kyle Rittenhouse’s acquittal angered left-wing students, universities offered mental health support.
And the killing of George Floyd has prompted universities – including Columbia itself – to accede to activists’ demands by engaging in “anti-racist” efforts.
When universities embrace their students’ causes, they passionately facilitate their activism. But this time it was different.
To his credit, Shafik called the New York Police Department to evacuate Hamilton Hall. And she was willing to condemn calls for Jewish genocide (unlike other elite university presidents).
But it’s time that she – and the nation’s university leaders – acknowledge the fact that they have actively encouraged activism for the sake of it.
Does Shafik remember the moment she praised “young people (who) have already mobilized to take action” in her book?
Today, they hold “seawalls for divestment” signs and vandalize campus buildings in the name of progress.
In light of this development, let’s hope Shafik begins to recognize that this generation’s righteous protesters are not creating the new paradigm she desires. They just cause chaos.
New York Post
