Columbia University Betrayed Me’: Indian Student Who Self-Deported To Canada
Ranjini Srinivasan vs Columbia University: "Circa five years I spent at Columbia University, working, like 100 hours a week sometimes. I didn't think the institution would be the one to disappoint me. But it did," she said.
New Delhi:
Ranjini Srinivasan, a 37-year-old Indian Ph.D. student in the US, who voluntarily left the USA and moved to Canada after her student visa was cancelled for being a “terror sympathizer” told her side of the story today. She even said that she feels ‘betrayed’ by her alma mater – the renowned Columbia University. Ms Srinivasan was charged with the fact that she was a supporter and sympathizer of Hamas – a globally recognized terrorist organization in the Palestinian region of Gaza.
She was working on her public planning doctoral degree and was just about to get her Ph.D. when the Trump administration canceled her student visa for her alleged activities to promote and align with Hamas.
Her student visa was renewed in December – just a month before Trump’s inauguration to the White House. She is now praying that Columbia University takes her case into consideration and restores her admission. Still, she feels similarly hurt by Columbia due to the attitude experienced by her.
“I was at Columbia University for five years, doing jobs, and during some weeks, I don’t even remember, I may have worked for even 100 hours,” she said. “I never thought the school would let me down. But it did.”, she said in an interview with Al Jazeera. Ms. Srinivasan, a Fulbright alum of Columbia University, told the newsmen that “I hope Columbia comes to its senses and re-enrolls me,” she said.
She is optimistic to get equity and justice from an internationally recognized faculty. She also mentioned her academic submission and the university’s request for her to do a PhD is almost a formality now, signifying that she has finished her work. “Completed all the requirements for my PhD, and the remaining part, I don’t necessarily have to be in the US for it,” responded Ms. Srinivasan to that, adding, “So, I’m trying to appeal to Columbia” to fulfill their role.
THE ORDEAL AND THE ESCAPE
When casting her memory to the quarantine ordeal, Ms Srinivasan said she had received an email on March 5 from the US Consulate in Chennai saying that her student visa had been withdrawn for an indefinite period of time. Within a few hours, she was still in the process of finding out the matter, and caused the agents to unexpectedly reach, ICE, Agents of the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement. They not only scared her but came also to deport her from the country if need be.
The doorbell rang but she pretended not to hear anything. It was the next day in the evening, and when the woman was not in the place, the agent came back, turned to the roommate, and began to ask for someone by name saying that she was the person they were looking for. At last, he got the entire burden of the visit.
After that, another student Mahmoud Khalil from Columbia was also picked aside by campus police, which resulted in mutual chaos between the students and the authorities. Ms Srinivasan then, with the alarming possibility of an arrest, managed to run away with a bag that had her documents, necessities, and some valuable things.
The officers stayed on high alert all the time she was on the run. Her cleverly avoiding the officers led her to the Charles de Gaulle in New York on March 11, where she then stayed with friends and relatives that came from Canada to help her. The airport surveillance video shown evidence of her carrying a bag full of her belongings. The footage went viral on all social media platforms.
Ms Srinivasan in another recollection of her time in the US admitted that she was afraid that she would be detained as a terrorist sympathizer. The two secretaries, Rachael Kay, and Kristi Noem, spoke out on the subject. However, only the latter one actually managed to confirm that the controversial post on X indeed featured Ms Patron’s name in it.
Columbia University, as of today, has still not communicated any facts surrounding the incident. It is unclear what their position is in the matter. By the time of writing this report, Columbia University had not made any official statement on the issue. A decision on whether or not the institution will look into the situation and handle it with justice will be made known to the public.
