A resurfaced video shows Columbia University medical students reciting a different version of the Hippocratic Oath one critic called the “mantra of critical race theory.”
The clip records the moments Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons Class of 2025 recited the oath during a White Coat Ceremony, as the students stand beside each other, Fox News reported Tuesday.
Lisa Mellman, M.D., a senior associate dean for student affairs and the Samuel Rudin professor of psychiatry, leads the young people.
“We enter the profession of medicine with appreciation for the opportunity to build on the scientific and humanistic achievements of the past,” the recitation begins:
The August 2021 ceremony was reportedly the first time in the school’s history the students recited their version of the Hippocratic Oath.
“We also recognize the acts and systems of oppression effected in the name of medicine. We take this Oath of service to begin building a future grounded in truth, restoration, and equity to fulfill medicine’s capacity to liberate,” the oath continues.
“I promise to self-reflect diligently, to confront unconscious prejudices, and to develop the skills, knowledge, and character necessary to engender an inclusive, equitable field of medicine,” the students said.
In a social media post Monday, City Journal writer Christopher Rufo said the students are chanting the mantra of Critical Race Theory, adding, “This is the DEI cult in the wild.”
His followers responded with their opinions on the clip, one person writing, “Been a practicing surgeon for 30 years, treated everyone equally and with respect. This is just embarrassing and scary.”
“How about just Do No Harm,” another commented.
According to the Fox report, the students are required to take the Hippocratic Oath, but may also take part in the student-led initiative.
“In the future, each class will have the chance to create its own oath,” the outlet said.
A few months ago, University of Minnesota Medical students vowed to “honor all indigenous ways of healing historically marginalized by Western medicine” and fight “white supremacy, colonialism, gender binary, ableism and all forms of oppression,” Breitbart News reported in October.