Columbia University has suspended 80 students for participating in a pro-Palestinian protest in May 2025. The protest involved students occupying part of the university’s main library. Several arrests were made at the time. After investigating, the university issued final disciplinary decisions this week.
According to Columbia, the protest violated campus rules by disrupting academic spaces. The university said it supports free speech but does not allow demonstrations inside buildings where classes are held. The 80 suspensions mark the largest disciplinary action for a single political protest in the school’s history.
The student group Columbia for Palestine confirmed the punishments and criticized the university’s response. The group and other protesters claim the university is cracking down on peaceful criticism of Israel. Some Jewish student groups have also defended the right to protest, rejecting the idea that all anti-Zionist speech is antisemitic.
The disciplinary actions follow federal pressure from the Trump administration, which canceled hundreds of millions in research grants earlier this year. The government accused Columbia of failing to protect Jewish and Israeli students. In response, the university made policy changes, including adopting a new definition of antisemitism and severing ties with a pro-Palestinian student group.
Civil rights advocates are raising alarms over free speech and academic freedom. They argue that peaceful protest is being punished and due process is being ignored. The government has also targeted other universities like Harvard, and attempted to deport some foreign pro-Palestinian students, though courts have blocked many of those efforts.