Safety concerns stemming from anti-Israel campus protests at Columbia University have caused fear among prospective students who no longer want to attend the school, a college consultant tells Fox News Digital.
Anti-Israeli demonstrations have escalated at elite U.S. universities in response to Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack and Israel’s retaliatory attacks on Gaza, with many colleges, including Columbia University, seeing protests paired with antisemitic incidents that have left many Jewish students feeling unsafe.
The campus hostility and antisemitic accusations have even led some aspiring students to look elsewhere, according to a New York-based college consultant, who said only one of around a dozen accepted Columbia students he’s working with is still considering attending.
“This student is actually international, so he doesn’t fully understand the scope of what’s going on, but every other student that I’m working with has said, ‘no, thank you’ to Columbia, and they’re looking for other options,” said Christopher Rim, the founder and CEO of Command Education, a top-tier college consulting group.
Anti-Israel protests at Columbia reached a boiling point this month after a pro-Palestinian encampment formed on campus, causing fear and escalating growing tensions among some students. The protests reportedly led to over 100 arrests, and led the college to switch to hybrid or virtual learning to close out the semester due to safety concerns.
Anti-Israel protests at Columbia University escalated in April as a pro-Palestinian encampment formed on campus leading some Jewish students to feel unsafe. (Getty Images)
“The reason why so many students are scared for their safety is because the administration has not come out to really protect them and defend them,” Rim told Fox News Digital. “The antisemitism, the campus leaders not really having an opinion about anything, that just shows very weak leadership.”
Columbia University President Minouche Shafik addressed campus safety concerns and denounced antisemitic language as “unacceptable” while encouraging students to report any threats in an April 22 statement. But Columbia was previously given a “D” grade for its response to campus antisemitism from the Anti-Defamation League in January.
Shafik was also called in front of Congress to testify alongside leaders from Harvard, Massachussetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the University of Pennsylvania on the rise in campus antisemitism.
“I just can’t believe that the administration and schools even allowed it to get to this place,” Rim said. “Do they not have any grasp or control over their own student body? It’s alarming.”
Christopher Rim, founder and CEO of Command Education, said only one of around a dozen students he’s working with that were accepted to Columbia is still considering attending the college. (Fox News)
One of Rim’s students, Oren, was accepted into Columbia last month and quickly committed to what he previously considered his “dream” school.
“Columbia has been my dream college since I was in middle school, and I dedicated myself to achieving this goal throughout high school,” Oren told Fox News Digital. “However, the recent antisemitic acts on campus have deeply troubled me.”
Oren, who is Jewish, said he visited Columbia last weekend, but didn’t feel safe on campus during the ongoing protests. He now would rather not attend college at all than go there.
“I find it reprehensible and unacceptable that such hate is tolerated within the university community,” Oren said. “Free speech should be allowed, but not at the expense of physical harm and threats. At this point, I am exploring other options and would rather not go to college than attend Columbia this fall.”
Columbia University has faced criticism over its response to antisemitism amid ongoing protests over the Israel-Hamas war. (Getty Images)
Rim said high school students he’s working with have also declined to attend pre-college summer programs hosted at Columbia due to safety concerns.
“Parents of these high school students don’t feel comfortable sending their kids there anymore,” Rim said.
The college consultant has even heard from current, fearful Columbia students who are “freaking out,” he said.
“Students don’t feel safe, and that’s where they want to transfer to a different campus,” Rim said.
Rim, who works with approximately 200 aspiring college students at once, said Duke, Emory and Washington University in St. Louis have risen in popularity among his clients due to their handling of antisemitism. He also said students are concerned about whether a Columbia degree will help future career prospects.
A college consultant said some aspiring college students are avoiding schools like Columbia University due to safety concerns. (Getty Images)
“A lot of these students want their degree to mean something,” Rim said. “It’s going to be meaningless at this rate.”
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Rim said that Columbia and other elite colleges who have faced fierce criticism over their response to antisemitism, including New York University, Harvard and Yale, have scared away students for the foreseeable future.
“They’re just so uncertain,” Rim said. “They don’t know what it’s going to take for the culture at these schools to change.”
Columbia University did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
