NEW YORK (BN24) — Columbia University has expelled and suspended students who participated in pro-Palestinian demonstrations, including a library sit-in before final exams in May and an encampment during last year’s alumni weekend, the Ivy League school announced Tuesday.
In a statement, the university confirmed disciplinary measures ranging from probation and degree revocation to multi-year suspensions and expulsions, stemming from its internal judicial board’s findings. A student activist group claimed nearly 80 students were notified of suspensions lasting one to three years or permanent removal.
The crackdown comes as Columbia faces intense pressure from President Donald Trump’s administration to comply with federal demands after the White House froze more than $400 million in research grants and federal contracts in March. The administration accused the university of failing to curb antisemitism amid escalating campus protests against Israel’s war in Gaza.
Columbia has since agreed to overhaul its disciplinary procedures and adopt a revised definition of antisemitism to meet conditions for restoring funding. “Our institution must focus on delivering on its academic mission,” the university said Tuesday, adding that disruptions to academic operations violate campus rules and “generate consequences.”
The school did not release the names of those sanctioned. However, it noted that disciplinary actions were specific to policy breaches linked to the spring protests.
The impact of the federal funding loss has already rippled across campus. Columbia disclosed in May that nearly 180 staff members—about 20% of those tied to canceled federal grants—would lose their jobs or face contract nonrenewals. Research projects are also being scaled back.
Student activists say the punishments are unprecedented and politically motivated. “This level of disciplinary action exceeds anything seen before for peaceful protests,” said Columbia University Apartheid Divest, a student-led group. They claimed students must issue written apologies to be reinstated—an ultimatum many will reject.
“We will not be deterred. We are committed to the struggle for Palestinian liberation,” the group said in a statement.
Columbia emerged as the epicenter of nationwide campus protests over the war in Gaza during the spring of 2024, when students erected an encampment and briefly seized a building, drawing national attention and prompting similar actions at other U.S. universities. Dozens of arrests followed.
Since returning to the White House in January, President Trump has taken aggressive steps to clamp down on what he calls “institutionalized antisemitism,” cutting funds to elite universities and targeting individual protesters.
Among them is Columbia graduate student Mahmoud Khalil, a legal U.S. resident with no criminal history, who was detained in March for participating in demonstrations. Khalil is now suing the Trump administration, alleging false imprisonment and defamation.
