Columbia University alumni rip diplomas protesting for Mahmoud Khalil, Ranjani Srinivasan; faces MAGA ire: 'They're tearing photocopies'

Several alumni of

Columbia University

Saturday ripped up their diplomas instead of taking part in the annual Alumni Day celebrations denouncing the stance the university took in Donald Trump administration's crackdown on international students. As videos of their protest went viral, MAGA commentators said the joke is on them as they would still have Columbia in their LinkedIn profiles. The protesters were only tearing the photocopies of their degrees and not meaning any harm to their career, social media users commented.
The protest came after ICE arrested Mahmoud Khalil from his Columbia-owned apartment on March 8. Another PhD student,

Ranjani Srinivasan

, left for Canada after her student visa was revoked. Both of them blamed the silence of the university for what happened to them.
Saturday's demonstration was organized by SIPA Alumni for Palestine and those who took part in ripping diplomas said they are not proud of Columbia at all. They want to stand with the students, with the Palestinians and with the international students who are being rounded up and harassed. The protesters held up signs and chanted “Free Palestine” and “Free Mahmoud Khalil” throughout the afternoon.

"Nothing says “I’m smart” like paying $200K for a degree and then tearing it up because President Trump hurt your feelings. Pure Ivy League brilliance," one wrote.
"These chicks ripping clear photocopies is hilarious," another wrote. "I bet you all of them will still put Colombia on their resume," a third user added.
"Lmao it’s hilarious because they are only destroying the printed version of their diplomas like it’s the same as throwing away their diploma as a credential forever. They will all keep those degrees on their resumes I guarantee you," another wrote.

Columbia targeted me for my activism: Khalil

In his first statement after being arrested, Mahmoud Khalil said he was targeted by the university for his activism. "Columbia targeted me for my activism, creating a new authoritarian disciplinary office to bypass due process and silence students criticizing Israel. Columbia surrendered to federal pressure by disclosing student records to Congress and yielding to the Trump administration's latest threats. My arrest, the expulsion or suspension of at least 22 Columbia students — some stripped of their B.A. degrees just weeks before graduation — and the expulsion of SWC President Grant Miner on the eve of contract negotiations, are clear examples," Khalil wrote.

Columbia let me down: Ranjani Srinivasan

In an interview with Al Jazeera from Canada where she fled to evade ICE arrest, Ranjani Srinivadsan said the ICE agents were on the campus where a student is supposed to be safe. The university made little effort to help her, she said, adding that they did not try to contact her while she was on the brink of completing her PhD. “I spent five years at Columbia, working – I don’t know – maybe 100 hours a week sometimes,” she says. “I never expected the institution to let me down. But it did.”