First appearance on FOXColumbia University President Minouche Shafik is being asked to refund tuition fees to students who were inconvenienced and lost educational services they paid for during the long-running anti-Israel camps on campus.
“I write to ask that you refund thousands of dollars in tuition and fees paid by Columbia University students while you allow a lawless pro-Hamas mob to thwart the university’s most basic obligation: to provide a quality education,” Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., said in a letter to the university’s president.
The anti-Israel encampment, which saw anti-Semitic threats and rhetoric and the occupation of campus buildings, began in mid-April and was not removed until the end of the month.
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Senator Marco Rubio called on Minouche Shafik to pay compensation to Columbia University students who lost educational opportunities because of the encampment he allowed to escalate. (Getty Images)
According to the Florida senator, students are entitled to compensation for the “quality education they paid for.”
He noted that Jewish students were being targeted and the safety of everyone on campus was at risk. Most notably, Jewish students were ordered to leave the campus by their rabbi, who claimed the school had failed to ensure their safety amid the chaos at the camp, where pro-Hamas slogans and signs were displayed.
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The anti-Israel camp lasted for several weeks. (Rashid Umar Abbasi for Fox News Digital)
“It wasn’t until April 30th, nearly two weeks after you allowed protesters to reoccupy Columbia’s campus, that a mob stormed and occupied Hamilton Hall at Columbia University, that you finally called in the NYPD to remove the mob,” Rubio said.
“By this time, however, threats to campus safety had become so severe that Columbia was forced to cancel its undergraduate commencement ceremonies and in-person final exams,” he added.
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Rubio has been mentioned as a possible running mate for former President Trump. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
“The failure to respond to this unlawful mob has resulted in many Columbia undergraduates missing three weeks of in-person classes,” the senators wrote.
She said nothing can “undo the damage” caused by the university allowing the encampment to grow while urging her to provide refunds to students.
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Shafik and his government were negotiating with the protesters. (Fox News Digital)
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“Basic math shows that a refund of $6,400 per student would cover the three-week interruption of Columbia University services,” he said, adding that students who attended the camp should not be eligible for refunds.
Columbia University did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital by publication time.
