Columbia University Stands Up

History and Background

Columbia University Stands Up began in 2025 amid escalating tensions between Columbia University and the federal government. The Trump administration had pressed Columbia to adopt stricter policies addressing antisemitism on campus following the pro-Palestinian encampment protests that disrupted university activities beginning in April 2024, in which students occupied Hamilton Hall and were removed by the New York Police Department. The federal government subsequently froze hundreds of millions of dollars in Columbia’s federal grants and contracts, and Columbia agreed in a settlement with the federal government to take corrective actions. CU Stands Up characterizes this agreement as an instance of “authoritarian tactics” and “censorship,” and claims it was founded to defend academic freedom and the rights of students, faculty, and staff at the university. ^{1 3 4}

The group claims to be informal without any leaders, official membership, or hierarchy. It claims no leaders or members are paid and no one is funding the organization. Its activities include organizing events, hosting discussions, coordinating calls to the Columbia University Board of Trustees, and publishing commentary through a newsletter it calls The Specter. CU Stands Up’s community partners include the Columbia chapter of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP-CU) and Student Workers of Columbia (SWC-UAW), the labor union of graduate students affiliated with the United Auto Workers (UAW). ^{1 5}

Activities

Columbia University Stands Up has participated in anti-U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) demonstrations in New York City alongside far-left organizations. In January 2026, CU Stands Up was listed as a participating organization in “ICE Out For Good,” an anti-ICE protest held on January 23 at Union Square, New York City, organized under the Hands Off NYC Coalition. Other participating organizations in the Hands Off NYC Coalition included the New York City chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America (NYC-DSA), the Young Communist League, and the Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL), a radical-left political party that supports the abolition of capitalism, has publicly endorsed communist figures including Mao Zedong, and has personnel that overlap with Chinese Communist Party-funded groups. ^{6 7}

In February 2026, CU Stands Up co-organized an anti-ICE demonstration outside the gates of Columbia University’s campus, alongside the Columbia chapter of the Sunrise Movement, a left-of-center environmental advocacy organization. The protest drew approximately 150 participants, many wearing shirts reading “Sanctuary Campus Now” and “ICE Off Campus.” Twelve protesters, including Columbia faculty and students, were arrested by the New York Police Department after blocking traffic on Broadway and refusing police orders to disperse. Those arrested were charged with refusal to disperse and blocking vehicular traffic, and were released after several hours. Mila Rosenthal, an adjunct professor of international and public affairs who was among those arrested, told the New York Times that university administrators needed to do more to protect international students on campus. ⁸

The university disputed claims made by protest organizers during the demonstration, including assertions that the university had allowed or invited ICE agents onto its campus. In a statement, Columbia affirmed that ICE must present a judicial warrant, not merely an administrative warrant, to access nonpublic areas of the campus, including classrooms and dormitories, and stated that no member of the university’s leadership or board of trustees had ever requested ICE’s presence on or near campus. ⁸

CU Stands Up maintains a “Calls to Board of Trustees” page on its website, which aggregates messages that members and supporters have submitted calling for action from the Columbia University Board of Trustees. The group uses the page to publicly document and amplify demands directed at the university’s governing board. ⁹