Latest news with #AlumniWeekend
Hindustan Times
23-07-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Columbia suspends, expels 80 students for participating in Gaza protests, university says ‘such violations will…'
Columbia University has taken strong action against students who joined protests against Israel's war in Gaza. The school has expelled some students, suspended others, and even revoked academic degrees. Columbia University has expelled some students, suspended others, and even revoked academic degrees.(AP) According to the student group Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD), around 80 students have now been punished. Some were expelled, and others were suspended for as long as three years. CUAD has been calling on Columbia to cut all financial ties with Israel, according to Al Jazeera report. Also Read: Israeli forces open fire on hundreds of starving Palestinians waiting for aid in Gaza, hospitals say; 25 dead Punished for protests at Butler Library In a statement on Tuesday, Columbia said the latest punishments are related to protests at Butler Library in May 2025 and an encampment during Alumni Weekend in spring 2024. The university said, 'Disruptions to academic activities are in violation of University policies and rules, and such violations will necessarily generate consequences.' CUAD said Columbia's actions go far beyond what's been done in past campus protests. The group said, 'We will not be deterred. We are committed to the struggle for Palestinian liberation.' Student encampments at Columbia in 2024 drew national and global attention. The protests were eventually shut down after the university let hundreds of NYPD officers onto campus, leading to many arrests. Despite that, student protesters took over Butler Library again during final exams in May. They called for the university to stop investing in companies tied to the Israeli military and showed support for Palestinians in Gaza. Columbia's Judicial Board said expulsions, suspensions, and revoked degrees were handed out for disrupting the campus during that time. The university didn't say how many were expelled but said this was 'the final set of findings from that period.' Columbia is also trying to get back $400 million in federal funding. The Trump administration cut the funds, saying the university didn't do enough to protect Jewish students from harassment. Claire Shipman, Columbia's acting president and a former trustee, was booed by students during the May graduation ceremony because of her role in punishing the pro-Palestinian protests. Also Read: History sheeter charged with arson for setting NYC police vehicles on fire at Pro-Palestinian protests Harvard University also faced threats of funding cuts Meanwhile, Harvard University, which also faced threats of funding cuts, has taken the Trump administration to court over it. The disciplinary actions at Columbia came the same day reports from Gaza said at least 15 people, including a six-week-old baby, died from hunger and malnutrition in a single day, according to local health officials. Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia protest leader who was detained by immigration officials, met with lawmakers in Washington, DC, on Tuesday. He had recently been released from a Louisiana detention center. The Trump administration has said it plans to deport pro-Palestinian activists.
UPI
23-07-2025
- Politics
- UPI
Columbia disciplines dozens of pro-Palestine protesters
Pro Palestine protesters are arrested by NYPD Police officers on the campus of Columbia University on Wednesday, May 7, 2025, in New York City. Arrests were underway late Wednesday after about 100 pro-Palestinian protesters at Columbia University took over the campus' Butler Library just days before final exams. File Photo by Derek French/UPI | License Photo July 23 (UPI) -- Columbia University has disciplined dozens of pro-Palestine protesters amid pressure from the Trump administration, which has targeted the school amid its crackdown on left-leaning ideology. In a statement Tuesday, the school said the unspecified sanctions were administered after its University Judicial Board determined they were warranted concerning the disruption of Butler Library in May and the Spring 2024 encampment during Alumni Weekend. The number of students punished was not mentioned, but sources told CNN that it was more than 70. "While the University does not release individual disciplinary results of any student, the sanctions from Butler Library included probation, suspensions (ranging from one year to three years), degree revocations and expulsions," Columbia said in a statement. The announcement comes as the school faces pressure from the Trump administration, which has targeted universities -- in particular elite schools -- over left-leaning activism it describes as anti-Israel and anti-Semitic and diversity, equity and inclusion policies. The Trump administration has claimed protests that erupted across campuses nationwide demonstrating against Israel's war in Gaza were violent and anti-Semitic, and has used them to punish those institutions. At Columbia, pro-Palestine protesters on May 7 disrupted a portion of Butler, occupying rooms there and vandalizing property, resulting in two public safety officers sustaining injuries. In March, the Trump administration canceled some $400 million in federal grants and contracts to the university "due to the school's continued inaction in the face of persistent harassment of Jewish students." Columbia has said the halt in funding forced it to lay off 180 researchers. Columbia said since March it has responded to the Trump administration by instituting what it has called structural reforms and other improvements. "Our institution must focus on delivering on its academic mission for our community," Columbia said in the Tuesday statement. "And to create a thriving academic community, there must be respect for each other and the institution's fundamental work, policies and rules. Disruptions to academic activities are in violation of University policy and Rules, and such violations will necessarily generate consequences." Since returning to power in January, President Donald Trump has used his executive powers to go after the United States universities, in particular its Ivy League schools. In April, he signed an executive order to reform the university accreditation system to penalize those that employ DEI policies. Harvard University has taken the Trump administration to court over the president's freezing of more than $2.4 billion in what the school said was a pressure campaign "to force Harvard to submit to the government's control over its academic programs." This month, it has launched four federal investigations into George Mason University over its alleged DEI policies. The New York Chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations lambasted Columbia on Tuesday for its "grotesquely oppressive" decision to mass-punish its students. "The students sat in unity to urge ending complicity in an active genocide. Columbia, seemingly bowing to political pressure from the Trump administration, has done more than undermine free speech and higher education. The University has sold its morality, academic integrity and commitment to students," CAIR-NY executive Director Afaf Nasher said in a statement.
Al Jazeera
23-07-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Columbia University suspends, expels nearly 80 students over Gaza protests
Columbia University in the United States has imposed severe punishments, including expulsion, suspension from courses and revocation of academic degrees, on dozens of students who participated in protests against Israel's war on Gaza. The student activist group Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD), which has called for the school to cut all financial ties with Israel, said in a statement that nearly 80 students have now been either expelled or suspended for up to three years over their involvement in antiwar protests. On Tuesday, Columbia said in a statement that its latest punishment of students relates to 'disruption of Butler Library in May 2025 and the encampment during Alumni Weekend in spring 2024″. 'Disruptions to academic activities are in violation of University policies and rules, and such violations will necessarily generate consequences,' the university wrote. The CUAD group said the university's sanctions on students 'hugely exceed precedent for teach-ins or non-Palestine-related building occupations'. 'We will not be deterred. We are committed to the struggle for Palestinian liberation,' the group added. The pro-Palestinian student encampments at Columbia University in 2024 helped ignite a global movement against Israel's unrelenting war on Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. The protest sites were eventually broken up when Columbia University allowed hundreds of New York City police officers on campus, leading to dozens of arrests. Despite the university's harsh crackdowns, student protesters occupied the Butler Library during final exams in May this year, demanding divestment from companies linked to the Israeli military and expressing solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza. Columbia University's Judicial Board confirmed it issued expulsions, suspensions and degree revocations after what it called a disruption during 'reading period'. It did not say how many students were expelled but said that this was 'the final set of findings from that period'. The Ivy League university is in negotiations with US President Donald Trump's administration to restore some $400m in federal funding. The Trump administration cut funds to the New York City-based institution over what it claimed were failures to 'meaningfully protect Jewish students against severe and pervasive harassment'. Columbia's acting president, Claire Shipman, a former trustee, was booed by students during a May graduation ceremony for her role in cracking down on pro-Palestinian protests. Fellow Ivy League institution Harvard University, which has also been targeted with billions in funding cuts by the government, has pushed back against pressure to change its policies by taking the Trump administration to court. The latest disciplinary measures announced by Columbia against students came on Tuesday as Israel's siege on the Gaza Strip continued to cause widespread starvation, with at least 15 people, including a six-week-old baby, dying from hunger and malnutrition within a 24-hour period, according to health officials. Mahmoud Khalil, the Columbia University protest leader targeted for deportation by the Trump administration, met with lawmakers in Washington, DC, on Tuesday, more than a month after he was released from immigration custody in Louisiana, where he was being held amid a pledge by the US president to deport pro-Palestinian activists.
22-07-2025
- Politics
Columbia University disciplines 70 students as it seeks a deal with Trump
Columbia University announced on Tuesday that it is disciplining more than 70 students over anti-Israel protests that took over Butler Library on the New York City campus earlier this year and during Alumni Weekend last spring. The disciplinary action came as the university seeks to work with the Trump administration, which in March accused the school of "continued inaction in the face of persistent harassment of Jewish students." Most of the disciplined students received two-year suspensions or expulsions in the first punishments meted out by the university's Provost's Office. The Trump administration is withholding $400 million in federal grants from the 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."
Yahoo
04-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Broncos will honor Demaryius Thomas and Super Bowl 50 team vs. Giants
After the late, great Demaryius Thomas was elected to the Denver Broncos' Ring of Fame on Tuesday, the team plans to honor DT -- and the entire Super Bowl 50 team -- this fall. This season marks the 10th anniversary of the club's 2015 campaign that ended with a 24-10 victory over the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl 50. Members of that squad will return to Empower Field at Mile High to be honored in Week 7 when the Broncos host the New York Giants on Sunday, Oct. 19. Advertisement Denver will hold its annual Alumni Weekend around that Giants game, and Thomas will be officially inducted into the Ring of Fame at halftime of the AFC vs. NFC showdown. Thomas ranks No. 2 on the team's all-time receiving list for yards (9,055) and touchdowns (60), only trailing Rod Smith (11,389; 68). Thomas, who died of a seizure at age 33 in 2021, was a five-time Pro Bowler, two-time All-Pro and Super Bowl champion. DT was one of the best players in franchise history, and he will now be immortalized among the team's all-time greats. Related: These 25 celebrities are Broncos fans. This article originally appeared on Broncos Wire: Denver Broncos: DT and Super Bowl 50 team will be honored in Week 7
