An unknown number of Columbia students were suspended from campus, expelled, or had their degrees revoked.
New York’s Columbia University has announced the imposition of punishments on pro-Palestine student protesters who occupied a university building last year during a pro-Palestine demonstration.
In a statement on Thursday, the university stated that the punishments range from multi-year suspensions to expulsions and the revocation of degrees. These decisions were made after reviewing the “severity of behavior at these events” and any past infractions by the students involved.
The university did not specify the number of students affected and declined to disclose their names to protect their privacy.
The punishments are tied to events in April 2024, when student protesters briefly occupied Hamilton Hall during a wave of pro-Palestine and pro-Israel demonstrations across Columbia’s Manhattan campus.
The protesters were calling for an end to U.S. support for Israel’s war on Gaza and for the university to divest from Israeli companies, among other demands.
During the occupation of Hamilton Hall, students barricaded themselves inside the building but were later forcibly removed by police. The university alleges that the protesters also vandalized the building.
This announcement of harsh penalties for student protesters comes just days after former Columbia postgraduate student Mahmoud Khalil was arrested by U.S. immigration authorities at the request of the U.S. Department of State due to his involvement in pro-Palestinian activism.
Khalil, a U.S. permanent resident married to a U.S. citizen, participated in demonstrations until his graduation in December. While a federal judge has temporarily blocked his deportation, he remains in custody at a detention facility in Louisiana.
Last week, U.S. President Donald Trump also announced the cancellation of $400 million in federal government grants and contracts, citing “legitimate concerns” of anti-Semitism on campuses linked to the pro-Palestinian protests.
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