Columbia Suspends and Expels Students Who Were Part of Anti-Israel Library Takeover
“Our institution must focus on delivering on its academic mission for our community.”
This incident happened back in May. It’s good to see some real consequences for the ones who did it.
The Associated Press reports:
Columbia University says it has suspended and expelled students who participated in protests
Columbia University announced disciplinary action Tuesday against students who participated in a pro-Palestinian demonstration inside the Ivy League school’s main library before final exams in May and an encampment during alumni weekend last year.
A student activist group said nearly 80 students were told they have been suspended for one to three years or expelled. The sanctions issued by a university judicial board also include probation and degree revocations, Columbia said in a statement.
The action comes as the Manhattan university is negotiating with President Donald Trump’s administration to restore $400 million in federal funding it has withheld from the Ivy League school over its handling of student protests against the war in Gaza. The administration pulled the funding, canceling grants and contracts, in March because of what it described as the university’s failure to squelch antisemitism on campus during the Israel-Hamas war that began in October 2023.
Columbia has since agreed to a series of demands laid out by the Republican administration, including overhauling the university’s student disciplinary process and adopting a new definition of antisemitism.
“Our institution must focus on delivering on its academic mission for our community,” the university said Tuesday. “And to create a thriving academic community, there must be respect for each other and the institution’s fundamental work, policies, and rules. Disruptions to academic activities are in violation of University policies and Rules, and such violations will necessarily generate consequences.”
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Comments
color me shocked
Correct me if I’m wrong, but this is the FIRST actual expulsion for any of these “protests,” no?
I have a lot of dificulty with the idea of the Columbia University Judicial Board having the power to revoke degrees after they are issued. I can understand Columbia delaying or withholding degrees as the conduct case awaits full adjudication, but once the accused is awarded the degree, he or she is no longer a student and any litigation should be in the civil or criminal courts.
As much as I’d like to disagree with you, I cannot. A degree isn’t a revocable honor, it’s a recognition that someone has accomplished a series of tasks set forth to reach a milestone. You can’t un-accomplish what you’ve accomplished. Whether what you’ e accomplished is worth a degree is a matter between the school and the student.
I also agree that, in cases in which a degree has not yet been granted, “behaviors unbecoming” a graduate can be used to withhold a degree. The argument that that criterion can be used when a degree has already been granted fails for two reasons: 1) autres temps, autres mœurs, from which it follows that 2) such an action would be the equivalent of ex post facto.