Columbia University, located in New York, revealed on Tuesday that it is penalizing more than 70 students for anti-Israel demonstrations that took place at Butler Library on its campus earlier this year and during the Alumni Weekend last spring.
This disciplinary action follows efforts by the university to cooperate with the Trump administration, which in March criticized the school for “ongoing inaction in the face of continuous harassment of Jewish students.”
The majority of students facing discipline have been given two-year suspensions or expulsions, marking the first sanctions imposed by the university’s Provost’s Office. As a result, the Trump administration is withholding $400 million in federal grants from Columbia University.
Columbia and the administration have been trying to work out a deal to restore the funding.
“Our institution must focus on delivering on its academic mission for our community. And to create a thriving academic community, there must be respect for each other and the institution’s fundamental work, policies, and rules,” the university’s statement said. “Disruptions to academic activities are in violation of University policies and Rules, and such violations will necessarily generate consequences.”
The University Judicial Board (UJB), which was placed under the Provost Office in March, determined the findings and disciplined the students. The UJB panel is comprised of professors and administrators who, the university said, “worked diligently over the summer to offer an outcome for each individual based on the findings of their case and prior disciplinary outcomes.”
The university did not disclose the names of the disciplined students.
The punishment stemmed from violations that occurred in May, when students took over the Butler Library during a pro-Palestinian protest, and from an illegal encampment students established on campus during Alumni Weekend in the spring of 2024, according to the university.
“The speed with which our updated UJB system has offered an equitable resolution to the community and students involved is a testament to the hard work of this institution to improve its processes,” the university said in its statement.
Following the Butler Library protest, which the university said affected hundreds of students attempting to study, the school launched an investigation, banned participating individuals from affiliated institutions and non-affiliates from campus, and placed Columbia participants on interim suspension.
“The University Judicial Board held hearings, in which respondents had an opportunity to be heard and make their case, and then determined findings and issued sanctions approximately 10 weeks following the incident,” according to the university’s statement.
In a March 13 letter to the university, the Trump administration listed nine demands Columbia must comply with “as a precondition for formal negotiations” regarding federal funding being withheld, including enforcing existing disciplinary policies.
Columbia also agreed to ban masks on campus, one of the Trump administration’s key demands, saying in the memo, “Public safety has determined that face masks or face coverings are not allowed for the purpose of concealing one’s identity in the commission of violations of University policies or state, municipal, or federal laws.”
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