Columbia University expels, suspends dozens over pro-Palestine protests
Columbia University has suspended or expelled dozens of students for participating in pro-Palestinian demonstrations.
The university said in a statement on Tuesday that it was punishing an unspecified number of students who took part in the May protest at Butler Library—where nearly 80 people were detained—as well as a similar demonstration during its annual alumni weekend last year.
The statement said the school would not release “the individual disciplinary results of any student.”
However, it said that “sanctions from Butler Library include probation, suspensions (ranging from one to three years), degree revocations, and expulsions.”
OFFICIAL CUAD PRESS RELEASE:
— CU Apartheid Divest (CUAD) (@ColumbiaBDS) July 22, 2025
In a historic first, Columbia has suspended nearly 80 students for participating in a teach-in honoring Basel al-Araj. The announcement comes just ahead of the University's deal with the Trump administration and the Anti-Defamation League. pic.twitter.com/lNnBNzKaC2
“Disruptions to academic activities are in violation of university policies and rules, and such violations will necessarily generate consequences,” the statement said.
A coalition of student organizations—Columbia University Apartheid Divest—said in a post on X that nearly 80 students have been expelled or suspended just days before final exams.
It said some students had been expelled outright, though the university has not confirmed the exact number.
The university has reportedly asked students to submit written apologies as a condition for reinstatement—a demand some say they will refuse.
“We will not be deterred,” the protest group said. “We are committed to the struggle for Palestinian liberation.”
Pro-Palestine protesters had staged a sit-in at the Lawrence A. Wien Reading Room of Butler Library on May 8. The protesters demanded that Columbia divest from Israel, cancel plans to build its Tel Aviv global center, and bar Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and police officers from campus.
During the protest, police blocked the exit of the reading room and required demonstrators to show their Columbia IDs or face arrest.
Many of the students who are now expelled or suspended had already been placed on interim suspension and barred from campus since the spring.
Columbia University Apartheid Divest says the latest action came as the university seeks to work with the Trump administration, which in March threatened to halt federal funding for any college or university that allows “illegal protests” to take place.
Columbia and the administration have been trying to work out a deal to restore the funding.
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