On Wednesday’s broadcast of CNBC’s “Squawk Box,” Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) stated that if Columbia University President Minouche Shafik had threatened to expel or revoke the visas of students in the encampment on campus or fire members of the faculty who were in the encampment and followed through on these threats, “this situation could have been resolved decisively. But once there’s a crisis of confidence in the leader of the university, then chaos ensues.”
After Torres stated that students and professors who violate school policy or the law should face consequences, co-host Andrew Ross Sorkin asked, “But does that mean these professors need to be fired, the ones that are engaged in this?”
Torres answered, “I think what we need is decisive leadership. If the President had made it crystal clear that if you fail to vacate the encampment, you’re going to face expulsion or you’re going to face a revocation of your visa or you’re going to face firing, when you have a credible threat of accountability, and follow through on those threats, then this situation could have been resolved decisively. But once there’s a crisis of confidence in the leader of the university, then chaos ensues.”
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