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Columbia University on Thursday expelled or suspended some students who took over a campus building during pro-Palestinian protests last year, reported news agency Associated Press.
The institution has also revoked the diplomas of students who graduated for participating in the student protests.
In a campus-wide email, the university stated that a judicial board had ordered action against students who occupied Hamilton Hall in 2024 to protest the war in Gaza.
The decision to suspend, expel or revoke degrees was based on an “evaluation of the severity of behaviour.”
On April 30, 2024, a group of university students had barricaded themselves inside Columbia's Hamilton Hall, after forming tent encampments on campus in protest.
New York Police stormed the campus the next day, and arrested dozens of people, who then faced a disciplinary hearing.
The Manhattan district attorney’s office said it would not pursue criminal charges for 31 of the 46 people initially arrested on trespassing charges. However, the other students, are likely to face charges even beyond their suspension, expulsion or revocation of degrees.
The suspensions and expulsions come amidst a government crackdown on student activists, who they have deemed liable for arrest and deportation, for allegedly supporting antisemitic sentiment towards Israel.
A student at Columbia University, Mahmoud Khalil, was the first of several detentions targeting student activists, President Donald Trump stated.
Columbia University has also been stripped of over $400 million in federal funds for its failure to manage the antisemitic behaviours allegedly displayed during campus protests.
House Republicans have also criticised the university and called for the release of the disciplinary records of the students involved in the protests.
Mahmoud Khalil and seven other students have filed a lawsuit seeking to block a Congressional committee from obtaining these records.
