Columbia Expels and Suspends Students Following Government Pressure: What We Know | Gaza News

Columbia University has expelled, suspended, or revoked the degrees of students who occupied a campus hall during pro-Palestinian demonstrations in April 2024, the university announced on Thursday.

The students were issued punishments based on the "severity of their behavior during these events" and any past infractions, according to a statement from Columbia.

This decision is part of the university’s response to a broader crackdown on student activists in the United States who led pro-Palestine demonstrations last year amid Israel’s war on Gaza. These activists called on their schools to sever financial ties with Israel.

The move also follows the U.S. government’s decision to cut $400 million in federal funding for Columbia on March 7. Columbia was one of 60 institutions threatened with further funding cuts in a letter from U.S. authorities this week.

Here’s what we know about the threat to Columbia and how the university has responded:

What does the U.S. government’s letter to Columbia and other universities say?

On March 10, the U.S. Department of Education sent letters to 60 institutions, informing them they were under investigation for "antisemitic harassment and discrimination." The letter warned of potential law enforcement actions if the universities fail to "protect Jewish students."

Prominent institutions such as Columbia, Harvard, and Princeton were among the schools that received the notice. All 60 schools benefit from U.S. federal funding.

The letter cited Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, which the Department of Education said requires universities to "protect Jewish students on campus, including by providing uninterrupted access to campus facilities and educational opportunities."

Secretary of Education Linda McMahon was quoted in the letter as saying: "The Department is deeply disappointed that Jewish students studying on elite U.S. campuses continue to fear for their safety amid the relentless antisemitic eruptions that have severely disrupted campus life for more than a year. University leaders must do better."

SHALOM COLUMBIA: The Trump Administration, led by @USEDgov and the Task Force to Combat Antisemitism (@TheJusticeDept, @HHSGov, & @USGSA), has canceled ~$400M in federal grants to @Columbia over its failure to protect Jewish students from antisemitic harassment. pic.twitter.com/CavoXbhhvx
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) March 7, 2025

On March 7, the Department of Education announced a $400 million funding cut to Columbia specifically, citing the university’s "failure to protect Jewish students from antisemitic harassment."

Columbia was a major hub during a wave of campus protests that swept the U.S. last year as Israel’s war on Gaza escalated. On April 30, a group of students, staff, and alumni occupied Hamilton Hall, an academic building on campus, before being forcibly cleared by New York police at the request of the university’s leadership.

How has Columbia responded? What action has it taken against students?

Columbia has not publicly responded to the letter from the Department of Education.

However, in a statement to staff and students on March 10, Columbia’s interim president, Katrina Armstrong, said the funding cuts would impact "research and critical functions of the University" and would affect staff and students. Approximately a quarter of the university’s more than $6 billion yearly operating costs are covered by federal grants.

Then, on Thursday, Columbia announced that students involved in last year’s Hamilton Hall protest have received multiple-year suspensions or outright expulsions following the university’s investigations. The months-long process was carried out by the school’s University Judicial Board and included hearings for each student involved.

"Columbia is committed to enforcing the University’s Rules and Policies and improving our disciplinary processes," the university said.

March 13, 2025 University Statement Regarding UJB Determinations: https://t.co/C8Hn518ZId pic.twitter.com/dgr71AzMeX
— Columbia University (@Columbia) March 13, 2025

Students who have since graduated will have their degrees revoked, the university added. The names and precise number of students sanctioned by the judicial board were not disclosed.

According to The Associated Press, several other students have been notified by university officials that they are under investigation for sharing social media posts in support of Palestinian people or participating in "unauthorized" protests.

‘Dangerous times’: How have students and others reacted?

In an opinion piece published in the university’s publication Columbia Daily Spectator in February, a group of student workers accused the university’s leadership of failing to take a stand.

"The Student Workers of Columbia sent you a letter asking for assurance that Columbia would protect noncitizen students, faculty, and staff. In response, we received a vague reply from your office, which seemed to reference a completely different topic. Rather than standing up for the Columbia community, the University’s leadership has stood by or, worse, accelerated and enabled these threats," the group wrote.

Columbia University authorities this week warned students at the institution’s journalism school about posting on social media, according to reporting by The New York Times. Non-U.S. citizens were especially cautioned to avoid publishing content about Gaza or Ukraine.

"If you have a social media page, make sure it is not filled with commentary on the Middle East," the journalism school’s dean, Jelani Cobb, told students. "Nobody can protect you … these are dangerous times," he added.

"History shows that a university that does not advocate for the academic freedom of its own members is opening itself to further attacks on academic freedom in the future," said historian Eraldo Souza dos Santos, who is currently affiliated with Cornell University.

"Columbia seemingly not only ignored Khalil’s calls for protection but also has been willing to collaborate with the current administration in its efforts to criminalize dissent on campus. It should, instead, be trying, within its own capacities, to offer legal and public-facing support to a generation of students who belong to the same long struggle against segregation and apartheid that took shape between the 1960s and 1980s," he told Al Jazeera.

What happened in the lead-up to all this?

Authorities have also cracked down directly on students involved in pro-Palestine demonstrations.

Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia student who acted as a student negotiator with university authorities until his graduation in December, was arrested and detained by immigration authorities on Saturday, March 11.

Khalil, a Palestinian raised in Syria, holds permanent residency in the U.S. and is married to a U.S. citizen but now faces deportation. Khalil’s lawyer, Amy Greer, told reporters that he was inside his Columbia University-owned home when officials from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency arrived to take him into custody.

Posting on his Truth Social platform after Khalil’s detention, former President Donald Trump said it would be the "first arrest of many."

Republicans in the U.S. Congress have scrutinized and criticized Columbia’s disciplinary process since the Hamilton Hall event. In a February letter to the institution, Republican representatives demanded that Columbia hand over records of students involved in campus protests or face funding cuts.

This week, Khalil and seven other unnamed students at Columbia and the affiliated Barnard College filed a lawsuit in a federal court in Manhattan in an attempt to permanently block a U.S. congressional committee from obtaining student records from the institutions.

Meanwhile, protesters have been gathering in support of Khalil. On Thursday, dozens of demonstrators who flooded the lobby of Trump Tower in New York with banners that read "Free Mahmoud" were arrested by police.

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