CNN’s Jake Tapper interviewed Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) on Wednesday about the protests that continue to grip college campuses across the country and the widespread accusation that those protests have taken an anti-Semitic turn.
“So the president of Columbia University is getting a lot of criticism. Your fellow Democrat from Pennsylvania, John Fetterman, the senator, has called on her to do her job or resign. What’s your take?” Tapper asked.
“Well, I think we need to restore some order on campuses, at Columbia , and across this country. Certainly, students and others have a right to peacefully protest in adherence with university policy and the laws of the city and the states they’re in,” Shapiro replied, adding:
I think what’s important is that we can’t allow peaceful protest about a disagreement on policy happening in the Middle East to be an excuse for anti-Semitism or Islamophobia on these campuses. We can’t allow it to be an excuse that puts certain students at risk, to be able to go to classes safely or to be able to worship safely.
And universities have a responsibility to ensure the safety and well-being of their students, and to make sure that the rules of the university are being followed. What I see from afar at some universities, including Columbia, is a situation that is completely out of control, and it’s incumbent upon the university leadership to get it under control quickly for the benefit of the students and the people in the region.