Columbia University Suspends, Expels Nearly 80 Students in Response to Gaza Protests
Columbia University has imposed disciplinary measures, including expulsions, multi-year suspensions, and revocation of academic degrees, on nearly 80 students involved in protests against Israel’s military actions in Gaza.
In a statement released Tuesday, the university said the latest round of disciplinary actions stems from student involvement in the disruption of Butler Library in May 2025, as well as an encampment held during Alumni Weekend in the spring of 2024.
“Disruptions to academic activities are in violation of University policies and rules, and such violations will necessarily generate consequences,” the statement read.
The student-led group Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD), which has been at the forefront of campus activism, confirmed that dozens of students have now been either expelled or suspended, some for up to three years, for their participation in antiwar demonstrations.
CUAD has repeatedly called on the university to sever financial ties with Israel and companies linked to its military operations.
The disciplinary actions have sparked renewed debate over free speech, student activism, and the limits of protest on U.S. college campuses, particularly as institutions grapple with increasing polarization around the Israel-Gaza conflict.
