Columbia punishes dozens of students as it seeks to restore federal funding

WASHINGTON – Columbia University took disciplinary action against dozens of students involved in campus protests as the school negotiates with the Trump administration to restore funding that was cut over accusations of civil rights violations.

Columbia disciplined more than 70 student protesters who occupied a campus library in May, a university spokesperson said on July 22. Of that group, more than 80 per cent were suspended or expelled; others were placed on disciplinary probation and some recent graduates had their degrees revoked.

Still more participated in an encampment protest over alumni weekend in 2024, but the spokesperson declined to say how many or what their punishments were.

The disciplinary measures are the first to be made by the new University Judicial Board (UJB), which was transferred to the provost’s office in March. The UJB was previously housed within the University Senate – which is made up of faculty and students – and has been a target of the Trump administration for its perceived leniency on protesters. The Columbia spokesperson said the timing of the measures is related to the new process rather than its talks with the government. 

The majority of the students disciplined were involved in occupying Butler Library in a pro-Palestinian protest during final exams that led to nearly 80 arrests. The students disciplined for actions from last year had their cases heard through the old disciplinary process with the University Senate, and were the final unresolved cases from the encampment protests, according to the spokesperson.

The Ivy League school has for months been working with the Trump administration on a settlement over anti-Semitic harassment on campus that would restore more than US$400 million (S$511 million) in federal funding. The New York Times reported last week that the deal would likely include a US$200 million payment from Columbia. 

This month, the school announced it would adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of anti-Semitism, and pledged to appoint coordinators to respond to and report allegations of civil rights violations. The school also said it will partner with Jewish organisations for mandatory anti-discrimination training.

Columbia’s acting president Claire Shipman also said the university would not “recognise or meet with” Columbia University Apartheid Divest, a coalition of pro-Palestinian student groups behind the campus protests, or its affiliates. 

“Organisations 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 on July 15. BLOOMBERG