Columbia disciplines dozens of students for pro-Palestinian library protest
Following the protest, the university began an investigation into rules violations, banned participants from the campus and placed them on interim suspension, it said. It issued its final determinations on Tuesday
Highlights:
- Pro-Palestinian protesters seized library in May
- Trump administration suspended some federal funds for Columbia
- Columbia, US government trying to strike deal to restore funding
- Columbia was hotbed of last year's pro-Palestinian protests
Columbia University said on Tuesday it was disciplining dozens of pro-Palestinian student protesters who seized part of the school's main library during a demonstration in early May that led to multiple arrests.
Following the protest, the university began an investigation into rules violations, banned participants from the campus and placed them on interim suspension, it said. It issued its final determinations on Tuesday.
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Columbia said in a statement that the sanctions included probation, suspensions ranging from one year to three years, the revocation of degrees, and expulsions. It did not specify how it disciplined any individuals.
"Disruptions to academic activities are in violation of University policies and Rules, and such violations will necessarily generate consequences," the university said in the statement announcing the actions.
President Donald Trump, opens new tab has targeted universities including Columbia since returning to the White House in January over the pro-Palestinian student protest movement that roiled campuses last year.
Columbia for Palestine, a pro-Palestinian group at the school, said on Tuesday that 80 students were informed on Monday about their punishments. It said the disciplinary action marked "the most suspensions for a single political protest in Columbia campus history" and exceeded past disciplinary actions announced against people over other protests.
In March, the Trump administration said it was penalizing the university over how it handled last year's pro-Palestinian protests by canceling hundreds of millions of dollars in research grants. It contended that Columbia's response to alleged antisemitism and harassment of Jewish and Israeli members of the university community was insufficient.
After the government announced the funding cancellations, the school announced a series of commitments in response to the administration's concerns.
"We support free speech," the school said in a statement at the time. "But demonstrations and other protest activities that occur inside academic buildings and places where academic activities take place present a direct impediment to maintaining our core academic mission."
Protesters, including some Jewish groups, say the Trump administration has wrongly conflated their criticism of Israel's military assault in Gaza with antisemitism and their advocacy for Palestinian rights with support for extremism.
Israel's devastating military campaign in Gaza followed a deadly October 2023 attack on Israel by Hamas, the militant organization that governed Gaza.
Last week, Columbia adopted a controversial definition of antisemitism that equates it with opposition to Zionism. The school also said it would no longer engage with pro-Palestinian group Columbia University Apartheid Divest.
The government has attempted to use the leverage of federal funding with other educational institutions as well, including Harvard University, over campus protests. It has also tried deporting some foreign pro-Palestinian students but has faced judicial roadblocks.
Rights advocates have raised concerns about due process, academic freedom and free speech over the government's actions.
