Elga Castro Ramos teaches in Barnard’s Spanish department and studies nationalism through sports, from soccer to the Olympics. But in 2024, she stepped squarely into Columbia’s political crisis, becoming one of the most active adjunct faculty members aligning herself with the pro-Palestinian protest movement.

Beginning in April 2024, Castro Ramos not only supported but physically joined the pro-Hamas encampment, a protest space repeatedly documented for its extremist slogans, intimidation of Jewish students, and refusal to abide by university safety measures. Photos, articles, and her own X posts show her on-site, praising protesters and offering commentary that mirrored the movement’s most aggressive talking points.

Online, she adopted an uncompromising, hardline narrative: repeatedly accusing Israel of committing “genocide,” amplifying posts that glorify resistance, and insisting the university punishments handed down to student activists were unjust. She also participated in campaigns calling for the reinstatement of suspended protesters, framing disciplinary action as political repression rather than a response to safety violations.

What might have been “support from the sidelines” became something far more impactful: an adjunct professor using her public platform and physical presence to validate a protest environment that Jewish students described as unsafe, exclusionary, and deeply hostile.

Record of Advocacy & Ideological Bias

Academic and Organizational Roles

Castro Ramos uses her position at Barnard to elevate political activism, transforming her academic identity into a vehicle for protest messaging. Her faculty title adds institutional credibility to movements that have strained campus safety and community trust.

Public Statements and Activism

• Apr–May 2024: Appeared at the Columbia encampment, with photos and reporting confirming her presence and support.

• Apr 2024: Participated in a faculty-led campaign demanding reinstatement of suspended pro-Palestinian student activists.

• Since Oct 7: Posted frequently on X claiming Israel is committing “genocide,” while encouraging and praising student protest actions.

• 2024–2025: Continually shared pro-Palestinian content and aligned herself with protest rhetoric, both online and on campus.

Collaborations and Affiliations

Her activism aligns her closely with faculty and student groups that defend the encampment, reject administrative authority, and reinforce narratives that downplay or dismiss Jewish students’ reports of harassment.

Impact on Campus Climate & Accountability Concerns

Let’s state it plainly: when faculty show up at an encampment where “intifada” chants, anti-Israel slogans, and targeted harassment are part of daily life, their presence does not neutralize the danger; it amplifies it. Castro Ramos’s participation offered the movement legitimacy at a moment when its rhetoric was escalating and Jewish students were reporting fear and exclusion.

Her online posting has the same effect. By repeatedly portraying Israel as committing “genocide” and framing disciplinary action as oppression, she helped cultivate a climate in which some students felt morally justified in escalating confrontation and hostility.

Faculty influence matters. Not because they lead the chants, but because they validate the space. And when the space becomes unsafe, that validation becomes part of the problem.

Castro Ramos’s activism illustrates a broader pattern: adjuncts and faculty using their institutional affiliation to elevate one-sided narratives while ignoring the real-world consequences for student safety. It is impossible to address the rise of antisemitic hostility on campus without acknowledging the role faculty like her played in normalizing and empowering the movements that drove it.

Accountability is essential, because campus safety depends on it.