Morrison Cohen Assists Columbia University’s Stand Columbia Society on “The Sunlight Report: A Reappraisal of the Sundial Report”
Morrison Cohen assisted Stand Columbia Society in the preparation of “The Sunlight Report: A Reappraisal of the Sundial Report,” created in response to the Columbia University Senate’s Sundial Report.
The Senate report, issued on March 31, 2025, purports to summarize the campus protests that occurred at Columbia University between 2023 and 2024 and the university’s response to those protests. The May 1, 2025 report released by Stand Columbia Society offers a comprehensive, evidence-based evaluation, written by members of the Columbia community, that critiques the Senate’s methodology and process.
Drawing on Columbia’s own history of principled inquiry, most notably the 1968 Cox Commission, the Sunlight Report highlights significant concerns in the production of the Sundial Report, including:
- Lack of formal Senate authorization and ratification
- Anonymous authorship and opaque editorial processes
- Heavy reliance on limited sources without critical triangulation
- Evidentiary errors, material omissions and patterns of bias
The Sunlight Report identifies over 400 instances of errors, omissions and biased framing in the Sundial Report, and highlights procedural and methodological flaws that call into question its validity as a comprehensive institutional account.
In response, the Sunlight Report respectfully offers six recommendations to help restore trust in Columbia’s institutional reporting processes, including:
- Formal clarification of the Sundial Report’s status
- Greater transparency about its authorship and sources
- Commissioning of a new independent review modeled on the Cox Commission
Columbia has a proud tradition of meeting moments of institutional challenges with seriousness, transparency and care. The Sunlight Report is presented in that spirit, aiming to uphold the values of intellectual honesty and institutional responsibility that represent the university at its best.
“We are pleased to have been afforded an opportunity to participate in the release of this important document,” stated Morrison Cohen Chair & Co-Managing Partner Y. David Scharf. “It provides a clear roadmap to Columbia University to fairly analyze the campus disruptions of 2023-2024, continue its progress in addressing the instances of anti-Semitism that occur, and acknowledge the university’s role as a provider of a secure and safe environment for its students and faculty.”
Chair & Co-Managing Partner Y. David Scharf, Partner Hon. David B. Saxe (Ret.) and Partner Genny Ngai assisted Stand Columbia Society in the preparation of “The Sunlight Report.”
Contacts
- Y. David Scharf Chair & Co-Managing Partner
- dscharf@morrisoncohen.com
- Genny Ngai Partner
- gngai@morrisoncohen.com
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