Columbia University expels and sanctions students over anti-Israel protests
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Columbia University has issued disciplinary actions - including expulsions and degree revocations - against nearly 80 students involved in anti-Israel protests.
This has drawn backlash from student activists and reignited debate around campus free speech and political expression.
The university's statement on Tuesday confirmed that a range of punishments had been handed down for student participation in protest actions, including a sit-in at the school’s library and an encampment during alumni weekend in spring 2024. Sanctions include probation, suspensions ranging from one to three years, as well as revocation of degrees and permanent expulsion. Columbia emphasised that it does not release individual disciplinary outcomes.
The disciplinary wave follows mounting political pressure from the administration of President Donald Trump, who has accused Columbia and other top universities of failing to address alleged anti-Semitism during widespread protests last year over Israel’s war in Gaza.
In response to the controversy, the federal government cut $400 million in funding to Columbia - money the university is now trying to recover through policy reforms.
"Columbia, which was the epicenter of the campus protests, has agreed to implement a series of policy reforms in an attempt to regain the federal funding," the article noted, acknowledging that the move has sparked anger among many students.
The library protest, according to Columbia, disrupted hundreds of students during a crucial exam preparation period. While the university did not detail sanctions for the encampment, it stated that the punishments represent “the final set of findings from that period.”
The student-led group Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD), which advocates for the school to sever financial ties with Israel, condemned the university’s response.
"The library-related sanctions hugely exceed precedent for teach-ins or non-Palestine-related building occupations," the group said. Despite the consequences, CUAD remains defiant: "We will not be deterred. We are committed to the struggle for Palestinian liberation."
Meanwhile, Harvard University, also facing significant federal funding cuts over similar issues, has opted to fight back in court rather than yield to pressure.
