Columbia University announced Thursday it's disciplining students involved in the occupation of a campus building during protests against the Israel-Hamas war last spring.
The big picture: The move comes after the Trump administration last week pulled some $400 million in federal grants and contracts from the university over allegations of antisemitism and after federal agents arrested a Columbia protest leader.
Driving the news: Columbia's five-member University Judicial Board issued punishments to students, including multi-year suspensions, temporary degree revocations and expulsions "in relation to the occupation of Hamilton Hall last spring," the university said in a statement.
- "With respect to other events taking place last spring, the UJB's determinations recognized previously imposed disciplinary action," the statement adds.
- The disciplinary actions come after the completion of a months-long process that included investigations and hearings.
- It was not immediately clear how many students have received such punishments. The university did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment in the evening.
Context: The building takeover was part of an escalation of campus protests sweeping the nation over the Israel-Hamas war last spring, with Columbia as the movement's epicenter.
- Dozens of protesters breached an administrative building at the Ivy League campus in Manhattan in April 2024, barricading entrances and flying a Palestinian flag out a window.
- At the time, the protesters inside Hamilton Hall were ordered to leave or face expulsion or even charges of burglary in the third degree, criminal mischief and trespassing.
- The occupation came after the university began suspending students for refusing to leave their on-campus encampment.