Columbia University punishes pro-Palestine students involved in protests
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Columbia University has handed down severe punishments to pro-Palestine student protesters who protested at campus building last year during a demonstration.
The punishments, which range from multi-year suspensions to expulsions and the revocation of degrees, followed a review of the protesters' actions during the April 2024 occupation of Hamilton Hall.
The university did not disclose how many students were affected or identify them, citing privacy concerns.
The students were part of a broader series of pro-Palestine and pro-Israel protests across the university's Manhattan campus, which included demands to end US support for Israel's actions in Gaza and for the university to divest from Israeli companies.
During the occupation, protesters barricaded themselves inside Hamilton Hall but were eventually removed by police.
Columbia claims the demonstrators also vandalised the building.
The university stated that the punishments were based on the severity of the students' behaviour and any prior infractions.
The decision to punish the students follows the recent arrest of former Columbia postgraduate student Mahmoud Khalil by US immigration authorities at the request of the US Department of State for his involvement in pro-Palestinian activism. Khalil, a permanent US resident, remains in custody in Louisiana, though his deportation has been temporarily blocked by a federal judge.
This comes amid broader concerns over anti-Semitism linked to pro-Palestinian demonstrations. Last week, US President Donald Trump announced the cancellation of $400 million in federal grants and contracts due to these concerns.
Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia University graduate, has filed a lawsuit against his alma mater, alongside seven other unnamed individuals, to block the university from handing over student activists' personal information to lawmakers in Washington.
The lawsuit, filed on Thursday, is a response to a request from the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, led by Rep.
Tim Walberg, which demanded disciplinary records from students involved in pro-Palestinian demonstrations.
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