Students protest at Columbia University amid rising tensions over Gaza; 80 face suspension or expulsion for breaching campus conduct rules.
Columbia University has suspended approximately 80 students following their involvement in recent on-campus demonstrations related to the ongoing conflict in Gaza. Ranging among the larger responses by an American academic institution to student activism in recent years, the disciplinary measures have given rise to renewed debate about the broad balance between free speech and institutional governance. According to an Al Jazeera article, CUAD has been urging Columbia to sever all financial relations with Israel.
The administration stated that the affected students violated clearly established university policies, including rules related to unauthorized encampments and disruptions to campus operations. Columbia officials stressed that while the university supports peaceful protest and the exchange of ideas, action that interferes with the functioning and safety of the academic environment will trigger disciplinary consequences.
Columbia said in a statement on Tuesday that the most recent penalties are connected to an encampment during Alumni Weekend in spring 2024 and protests at Butler Library in May 2025. Disruptions to academic activity are against university laws and regulations, and they will inevitably have repercussions, the university stated.
According to CUAD, Columbia's actions are significantly more extensive than those of previous campus protests. The group said, “We will not be deterred. We are committed to the struggle for Palestinian liberation.”
The suspended and expelled students were reportedly involved in several days of sit-ins and encampments seeking to pressure the university to sever ties with entities associated with the Israeli government or defense sector. The demonstrations joined in a wider wave of student-led protest across U.S. campuses in response to the escalating humanitarian crisis in Gaza, in which protesters demanded the institution's divestment and accountability toward endowment investments.
Columbia's leadership has defended its decision, asserting that while student activism is a long-standing tradition, adherence to conduct protocols is non-negotiable. A university spokesperson explained that the measures were implemented following repeated warnings and noncompliance, emphasizing the need to uphold campus order and community safety.
Disciplinary actions have received mixed reactions. Civil libertarians and student organizations argue that the university's heavy-handed response amounts to repression against dissenting voices and risks stifling academic freedom and discouraging legitimate political participation. Conversely, some of the faculty and numerous external observers support the position taken by the university, asserting that it is important to protect the integrity of the institution and continuity of operations.
Columbia University’s decision may be a harbinger for how other institutions of higher education manage politically charged protests moving forward. As tensions around the Israel-Gaza conflict continue to reverberate globally, scrutiny of universities regarding their navigation through albeit careful waters-ending at the intersection of activism, policy, and academic freedom is intensifying.
Harvard University, which was also threatened with financial cuts, has filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration over it. Columbia's disciplinary measures were announced on the same day that local health officials in Gaza reported that at least 15 people, including a six-week-old infant, had perished from starvation and malnutrition in a single day. On Tuesday, Mahmoud Khalil, a protest leader from Columbia who was arrested by immigration authorities, met with politicians in Washington, DC. He had just been freed from a prison in Louisiana. According to the Trump administration, pro-Palestinian activists will be deported.
