Columbia University has expelled and suspended pro-Palestinian students who seized a campus building last spring. Some graduates also had their degrees revoked.
“Today, the Columbia University Judicial Board determined findings and issued sanctions to students ranging from multi-year suspensions, temporary degree revocations, and expulsions related to the occupation of Hamilton Hall last spring,” the university announced Thursday.
The university did not state how many students were punished, but some reports put the number at 22. The sanctioned students have a right to appeal.
The move comes on the heels the Trump administration’s decision to revoke $400 million in federal grants and contracts due to the school’s “continued inaction in the face of persistent harassment of Jewish students.”
The Trump administration also recently arrested and seeks to deport a recent Columbia grad and Syrian national, Mahmoud Khalil, who helped lead the disruptive pro-Palestinian protests last year.
In late April 2024, Columbia University locked down its campus to everyone but essential personnel after anti-Israel student protesters smashed windows and barricaded themselves inside Hamilton Hall.
Columbia has fallen
Pro-Palestinian protesters have reportedly taken a building by force and barricaded themselves inpic.twitter.com/fhFbOmZVwY
— The College Fix (@CollegeFix) April 30, 2024
A few custodians were detained in the melee and some students reported being assaulted. The building was also vandalized and thrashed. The situation was resolved after police in riot gear were called in.
Columbia ended up canceling its 2024 commencement after more than 200 anti-Israel protesters were arrested on campus over a tent encampment that refused to disband.
National Review reported that “Thursday’s punishments arrived almost eleven months after the incident. Despite the long wait, Columbia’s Jewish community praised the university’s disciplinary actions.”
“This ruling is an important first step in righting the wrongs of the past year and a half,” Brian Cohen, executive director of Columbia Hillel, said in a statement. “I am grateful to the Rules Administrator and other members of the Administration for their roles in ensuring these cases were resolved.”
IMAGE CAPTION AND CREDIT: Student protesters take over Hamilton Hall at Columbia University in April 2024; X screenshot.
MORE: Trump yanks $400M from Columbia: ‘Inaction in face of persistent harassment of Jewish students’
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