Latest news with #non-Palestine-related
Middle East Eye
23-07-2025
- Politics
- Middle East Eye
Columbia University suspends or expels almost 80 students for pro-Palestine protest
Columbia University announced new sanctions against student activists on Tuesday, suspending or expelling dozens of students for their participation in pro-Palestine protests. The suspensions will last between one and three years and will require students to write an apology letter if they wish to return to the university. The disciplinary proceedings primarily targeted students involved in the takeover of Butler Library to host a teach-in honouring the Palestinian writer Basel al-Araj, who was killed by Israeli forces in 2017. Protesters renamed the library 'the Basel al-Araj Popular University'. 'The sanctions issued on July 21 by the University Judicial Board were determined by a UJB panel of professors and administrators who worked diligently over the summer to offer an outcome for each individual based on the findings of their case and prior disciplinary outcomes,' Columbia wrote in a statement. Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD) said in a statement: 'Once Barnard joins Columbia in announcing charges, these will be the most suspensions for a single political protest in Columbia campus history and hugely exceed sentencing precedent for teach-ins or non-Palestine-related building occupations.' Barnard is a Columbia University affiliate. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters CUAD alleged that Columbia president Claire Shipman modified disciplinary proceedings to crack down on student protesters. '[Shipman] illegally restructured the University Judicial Board (UJB) and removed student members and faculty oversight to pursue exceptionally harsh sanctions against its own students,' CUAD said in a statement. Pro-Palestine protests at Columbia and other universities have come to the forefront since the beginning of Israel's war on Gaza, which several countries, as well as many international rights groups and experts, now say qualify as an act of genocide. More than 100 Palestinians in Gaza, including at least 80 children, have starved to death as a result of Israel's siege, and more than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed at aid distribution sites since March. Police on campus Students have condemned Columbia's collaboration with the New York Police Department (NYPD) and Trump administration officials. During the takeover of Butler Library, Columbia invited NYPD officials on to campus, who ultimately arrested 78 demonstrators. Columbia claimed the NYPD's presence was necessary to 'assist in securing the building and the safety of our community'. Georgetown University professor placed on leave over misrepresented X post Read More » But four students were hospitalised with concussions due to NYPD brutality during the protest, according to CUAD. One of the arrested students reported being 'choked and going in and out of consciousness after the arrest. One of [the police officers] kept trying to gouge my eyes. They slammed my head into the floor multiple times.' CUAD alleged that the disciplinary sanctions were a result of talks between Columbia and the Trump administration to restore $400 million in cancelled federal funding. They listed Columbia's adoption of a definition of antisemitism that considers Zionism a protected class and a new partnership with the pro-Israel Anti-Defamation League as similar concessions. Columbia's press office did not respond to a request for clarification. Student activists say they will continue to organise undeterred by disciplinary proceedings. According to one student quoted on CUAD's Substack, 'if this hearing was meant to isolate or shame, it has done the opposite. It has made us more clear: no sanction handed down here can expel principle. Basel al-Araj wrote: 'Join them, and don't betray the question.' We have joined, and we will not betray the question."
Mint
23-07-2025
- Politics
- Mint
Columbia University's disciplinary action: Nearly 80 students expelled for taking part in pro-Palestinian protests
Columbia University took disciplinary action on Tuesday against many students who participated in the campus protests inside the Ivy League school's primary library prior to final exams in May and an encampment during alumni weekend last year. According to a student activist group, nearly 80 students were informed they have been expelled for one to three years. In a statement, Columbia University mentioned that the sanctions imposed by its judicial board also consist of probation for some and the revocation of degrees for those graduated recently. Most of the students who were disciplined had participated in the pro-Palestinian protest, specifically taking over Butler Library. The new University Judicial Board, which was moved to the provost's office in March, has issued its first disciplinary actions. Previously, the UJB operated under the University Senate, a body composed of faculty members and students, and it had drawn criticism from the Trump administration for being seen as too lenient toward protesters. A Columbia spokesperson stated the timing of these actions is linked to the updated procedure rather than ongoing discussions with the government. The school announced this month that it will adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance's definition of antisemitism. It also committed to appointing coordinators responsible for responding to and reporting civil rights violation complaints. Furthermore, the school plans to work with Jewish organisations to conduct compulsory anti-discrimination training sessions. The university would not 'recognize or meet with' CUAD, a union of pro-Palestinian student groups behind the campus demonstrations, or its associates, Columbia Acting President Claire Shipman stated, as per a Bloomberg report. She added, 'Organizations that promote violence or encourage disruptions of our academic mission are not welcome on our campuses and the University will not engage with them,' she said in a statement July 15.' CUAD, which urges for the school to slash all financial links with Israel, said the library-related sanctions 'hugely exceed precedent for teach-ins or non-Palestine-related building occupations', AFP reported. It further said, 'We will not be deterred. We are committed to the struggle for Palestinian liberation." (With inputs from Bloomberg, AP and AFP)
NDTV
23-07-2025
- Politics
- NDTV
Columbia Punishes 80 Students Over Anti-Israel Protests
Columbia University said Tuesday it has issued various punishments, including expulsions and degree revocations, against various students involved in anti-Israel protests on campus. The sanctions, which a student group said targeted nearly 80 people, come as the New York institution negotiates with President Donald Trump's administration to restore $400 million in cut federal funding. Trump has applied intense pressure on the prestigious university and others, accusing them of failing to address alleged anti-Semitism amid nationwide protests last year against Israel's war in Gaza. Columbia, which was the epicenter of the campus protests, has agreed to implement a series of policy reforms in an attempt to regain the federal funding, sparking anger from many students. Fellow Ivy League institution Harvard has also been targeted with billions in funding cuts, but is fighting the pressure campaign in court. The latest sanctions by Columbia stem from a library sit-in this past May, as well as an encampment set up during alumni weekend in spring 2024, the university said in a statement. The library protest disrupted hundreds of students during an exam study period, it said, with punishments including "probation, suspensions (ranging from one year to three years), degree revocations, and expulsions." "The University does not release individual disciplinary results of any student," the statement said. It did not specify which punishments had been issued for the spring 2024 encampment, which occurred after larger protests -- including the occupation of an academic building -- but Columbia said it was "the final set of findings from that period." The student group Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD), which calls for the school to cut all financial ties with Israel, said the library-related sanctions "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 said.
