Columbia Expels And Pulls Degrees For Some Students Who Occupied Building During Pro-Palestinian Protests

 

Demonstrators supporting Palestinians in Gaza barricade themselves inside Hamilton Hall, an academic building which has been occupied in past student movements, on April 30, 2024 in New York City.

Columbia University announced in an email Thursday it suspended or expelled some of the students who occupied a campus building during pro-Palestinian protests last year, according to multiple outlets, dishing out a range of punishments nearly a full year after the incident.

Key Facts

The email said students were suspended, expelled or had their degrees temporarily revoked based on “evaluation of the severity of behaviors,” the Associated Press reported.

Some of the suspensions are years-long, according to the email reported by the AP, which noted it was unclear how many students received punishments.

The students' names will not be released due to federal privacy laws, according to The New York Times, which cited an unnamed Columbia employee who said student defendants were allowed two advisers, including legal counsel, during disciplinary hearings done via video conference.

The punishments were announced less than a week after the Trump administration pulled $400 million in grants and contracts from the university, claiming the funding was rescinded over its “inaction in the face of persistent harassment of Jewish students.”

Big Number

60. That is how many colleges and universities are under investigation by President Donald Trump’s Department of Education for alleged “relentless antisemitic eruptions.” All schools involved in the probe, which also include Northwestern University, Portland State University, the University of California, Berkeley, and the University of Minnesota Twin Cities, could face enforcement actions.

Key Background

The occupation of Columbia’s Hamilton Hall happened last April as part of a larger wave of pro-Palestinian protests on college campuses throughout the U.S. The occupation was condemned by former President Joe Biden and ended after New York Police Department officers breached the building’s second-floor windows and brought protestors out. The fallout of the nationwide university protests has continued into this year, as the Trump administration has warned colleges that allow “illegal protests” will lose federal funding.

Tangent

Columbia University student activist and green card holder Mahmoud Khalil was arrested by federal immigration agents last weekend, triggering an uproar from civil rights groups and even challenges from right-wing figures over his abrupt detainment.