In a recent letter, the writer said it was shameful for Columbia University to remove protesters from its campus (“Pro-Palestinian speech crackdown is shameful,” Star-Advertiser, April 23). However, protesters returned, broke into Hamilton Hall and were later removed by the police.
What is shameful and despicable were the chants. One man, off campus, shouted “Never forget the seventh of October … That will happen not one more time, not five more times, not 10 more times, not 100 more times, not 1,000 more times, but 10,000 times!” This is beyond free speech and borders on hate speech.
The letter writer also said that removal of protesters at Columbia was an attack on academic freedom. How so? It’s the Jewish students who felt threatened and intimidated, and as a result the school switched to hybrid learning. Finally, the writer claimed that the protesters were denied the ability to exchange ideas. Exchange ideas with whom? Jewish students?
Harold Nakagawa
Mililani
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