This school year is starting like the last one ended: In chaos

The new school year is already beginning where the last one ended: In turmoil.

The new school year is already beginning where the last one ended: In turmoil. The resignation of Columbia President Minouche Shafik Wednesday was shocking, not because it was unexpected – it was a surprise that she survived so long, considering the mounting pressure on her to step down over the university’s poor handling of the campus protests last school year after Hamas’ deadly October 7 attack on Israel and the ensuing war in Gaza that has killed tens of thousands of people. The astonishing part of Shafik’s announcement was the timing. Shafik stepped down just as students were coming back to campus after a mostly quiet summer. The relative lack of protests on campus over the past couple months led many to believe that Shafik’s job was safe. It’s unclear why she resigned now. Shafik, in a statement said the period took a “considerable toll” on her family. But she offered little explanation for why this moment, just as the school year was set to begin, was the optimal time for her to leave. “It has been distressing—for the community, for me as president and on a personal level—to find myself, colleagues, and students the subject of threats and abuse,” Shafik said in the statement.