Columbia Suspends and Expels Pro-Palestinian Students Who Occupied Building

Columbia University has taken action against students who participated in a pro-Palestinian protest last spring and took over a campus building.

The school suspended and expelled some students who participated in occupying Hamilton Hall in a move that escalated last year’s campus protests.

The Trump administration has pulled $400m (£310m) of federal funding from Columbia University, saying it failed to fight antisemitism on campus.

The university’s actions also follow the arrest of Columbia campus activist Mahmoud Khalil, who was detained by federal immigration authorities on Saturday.

The university’s Judicial Board (UJB) issued sanctions to students that ranged from “multi-year suspensions, temporary degree revocation and expulsions”, the school said in a statement on Thursday.

A campus-wide email sent indicated the university issued these sanctions against dozens of students, the BBC’s US news partner CBS reported.

“The return of suspended students will be overseen by Columbia’s University Life Office,” the school said in a statement. “Columbia is committed to enforcing the University’s Rules and Policies and improving our disciplinary processes.”

A group of students took over Hamilton Hall last April in an escalation of a tent encampment on campus that formed in protest over the war in Gaza.

Students barricaded themselves in the building.

Police later arrested dozens at the request of Columbia University officials. No one faced criminal charges.

The announcement comes as Mr Khalil, a Syrian-born Columbia graduate, remains in detention in Louisiana following a court hearing on Wednesday.

Mr Khalil’s case has raised questions about free speech on college campuses and the legal process that would allow for the deportation of a US permanent resident.

US President Donald Trump has repeatedly alleged that pro-Palestinian activists, including Mr Khalil, support Hamas, a group designated a terrorist organisation by the US. The president argues these protesters should be deported.

Trump has threatened to pull funding from schools and universities that allow “illegal protests”.

(BBC)