Conservative Federal Judges Are Refusing To Hire Columbia Graduates

(NationalUSNews.com) — As a result of the ongoing protests and activist occupation of Columbia University in New York City, 13 federal judges have decided to boycott hiring their graduates.

They made this statement in a letter to the president and law dean of Columbia University, outlining their reasoning as well as requirements to lift their ban. This is not the first time such an action has been taken against an ivy league university over ineffective handling of student behavior. In 2023, several CEOs announced a boycott of hiring Harvard graduates over a letter that 34 student groups signed condemning Israel immediately following the attack by the terrorist group Hamas on October 7.

The letter to Columbia University accuses the school of being an “incubator for bigotry”. The judges say they have lost confidence in Columbia as an institution of higher education, claiming they have disqualified themselves from educating the future leaders of America. The letter further emphasizes the importance of free speech on campus and political neutrality of the institution to foster academic freedom and viewpoint diversity.

In their letter, the judges list three actions that the university must take to lift the ban. First and foremost, students and staff who violated established rules and participated in campus disruptions must face serious consequences. Next, they demand Columbia practice nondiscrimination and neutrality in the enforcement of their rules as well as in their protections of free speech. They also say the school needs to establish viewpoint diversity throughout the administration, faculty and in admissions.

Columbia University has not made any public response to the letter. The boycott will affect graduates from 2024 onward. Some have called the ban on hiring Columbia graduates blackmail, although they do not label the student demands that Columbia University to divest from Israel in the same way. Others have pointed out that all of these judges are right-leaning, and many were appointed by former president Trump.

There are 890 authorized federal judgeships, and the letter only represents 13. However, as universities become increasingly partisan, these kinds of boycotts may become more common throughout the judicial system.