Columbia expels, suspends students
after government threats: What we
know
Move comes after Columbia was targeted in federal funding cuts last week.
Columbia University has expelled, suspended or revoked degrees of students who occupied a campus hall during pro-Palestinian demonstrations in April 2024, the university said on Thursday.
Students were issued with punishments based on the “severity of behaviour at these events” and past infractions, if any, a statement from Columbia read.
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The move is the university’s response to a crackdown on student activists in the United States who led pro-Palestine demonstrations last year amid Israel’s war on Gaza, and called for their schools to cut financial ties with Israel.
It also comes after the government cut $400m in federal funding for Columbia on March 7. The university was one of 60 institutions threatened with further cuts in a letter from US authorities this week.
Here’s what we know about the threat to Columbia and how it has responded:
What does the US government’s letter to Columbia and other universities say?
On March 10, the US Department of Education sent letters to 60 institutions, informing them they were under investigation for “antisemitic harassment and discrimination” and warning them of potential law enforcement actions if they don’t “protect Jewish students”.
Prominent institutions such as Columbia, Harvard and Princeton were among the schools which received the notice. All 60 schools benefit from US federal funding.
The letter cited Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, which the education department said mandates universities to “protect Jewish students on campus, including (by providing) uninterrupted access to campus facilities and educational opportunities”.
Secretary of Education Linda McMahon was quoted as saying in the missive: “The Department is deeply disappointed that Jewish students studying on elite US campuses continue to fear for their safety amid the relentless antisemitic eruptions that have severely disrupted campus life for more than a year. University leaders must do better.”
Earlier, on March 7, the Department of Education announced a $400m funding cut to Columbia specifically, citing a “failure to protect Jewish students from antisemitic harassment”.
The school was a major hub during a wave of campus protests that swept the US last year as Israel’s war on Gaza escalated. On April 30, a group of students, staff and alumni occupied Hamilton Hall, an academic building on campus, before being forcibly cleared by New York police on request of the read more
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