Columbia University expels, revokes diplomas, suspends pro-Palestine students for campus protests
New York (AP): Columbia University has expelled or suspended some students who took over a campus building during pro-Palestinian protests last spring and temporarily revoked the diplomas of others who have since graduated, officials said on Thursday.
The university said in a campus-wide email that a judicial board brought a range of sanctions against students who occupied Hamilton Hall last spring to protest the war in Gaza.
Columbia did not provide a breakdown of how many students were expelled, suspended or had their degrees revoked, but it said the outcomes were based on an "evaluation of the severity of behaviours".
The culmination of the monthslong investigative process comes as the university is reeling from the arrest of a well-known Palestinian campus activist, Mahmoud Khalil, by federal immigration authorities last Saturday in what President Donald Trump said would be the "first of many" such detentions.
At the same time, the Trump administration has stripped the university of more than USD 400 million in federal funds over what it calls a failure to combat campus antisemitism. Congressional Republicans have pointed specifically to a failure to discipline students involved in the Hamilton Hall seizure as proof of inaction by the university.
The building occupation followed a tent encampment that inspired a wave of similar demonstrations at college campuses across the country.
On April 30, 2024, a smaller group of students and their allies barricaded themselves inside Hamilton Hall with furniture and padlocks in a major escalation of campus protests.
At the request of university leaders, hundreds of New York police stormed onto campus the following night, arresting dozens of people involved in both the occupation and the encampment.
At a court hearing in June, the Manhattan district attorney's office said it would not pursue criminal charges for 31 of the 46 people initially arrested on trespassing charges inside the administration building.
But the students still faced disciplinary hearings and possible expulsion from the university. Some faced interim suspensions.
The final sanctions announced on Thursday followed a lengthy process that involved hearings for each student led by Columbia's long-running Judicial Board.
Separately, a newly-created disciplinary board has brought a flurry of new cases against students -- including Mahmoud Khalil -- who have expressed criticism of Israel, triggering alarm among free speech advocates. Khalil was not among the protesters accused of seizing Hamilton Hall.
The expulsion announcement drew praise from some faculty members, including Gil Zussman, chair of the electrical engineering department and member of Columbia's Task Force on Antisemitism.
"Finally demonstrating that breaking university rules has consequences is an important first step towards going back to the core missions of research and teaching," he said in a post on social media platform X.
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EAM Jaishankar holds talks with EU counterparts in Brussels, discusses Iran conflict
New Delhi (PTI): External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met with his counterparts from the 27 member states of the European Union (EU) in Brussels focusing on global flashpoints in Ukraine and West Asia as well as ways to deepen India's relations with Europe.
Jaishankar is on a two-day visit to the Belgian capital at the invitation of EU Foreign and Security Policy Chief Kaja Kallas to attend a meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council of the bloc.
It is the first high-level visit from India to Brussels headquartered EU after the two sides firmed up a landmark Free Trade Agreement (FTA) in January.
The external affairs minister held separate meetings with European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and his counterparts from Germany, Greece and Belgium.
"A new chapter in India-EU ties has opened up in 2026," Jaishankar said in an apparent reference to the outcomes reached by the two sides in their summit meeting in January in New Delhi.
"The Foreign Ministers coordinate translating the various agreements into outcomes. Our conversation today therefore covered trade, investment, technology, mobility and defence in particular," he said on social media.
"The stronger convergence between India and EU in a multipolar world is also expressed in closer consultations. Discussed the West Asia conflict, the Ukraine situation and the Indo-Pacific in today's gathering," he said.
Apart from the FTA, the India-EU summit produced a plethora of other outcomes including a security and defence partnership and a comprehensive framework for cooperation on mobility.
The Foreign Affairs Council discussed how to better protect shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, including possible contributions by the EU's naval mission Aspides, and a European security strategy, Kallas told reporters.
Global oil and gas prices have surged after Iran has virtually blocked the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow shipping lane between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman that handles roughly 20 per cent of global oil and LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas).
The West Asia region has been a major source of India's energy procurement.
The closure of the strait is hurting the global economy and it is helping Moscow fund its war, Kallas said, days after the US temporarily lifted sanctions on procurement of Russian crude oil.
She said the focus on the Middle East should not take the focus away from the war in Ukraine, and the easing of US sanctions on Russian oil sets a "dangerous precedent".
Following his meeting with Von der Leyen, Jaishankar said her highly successful state visit to India in January marked a "turning point" in India-EU ties. "We are following up vigorously on it."
Von der Leyen said that the two sides had concluded a free trade agreement, "the mother of all deals", and signed the Security and Defence Partnership.
"Now we are focused on efficient implementation, to deliver for the people of Europe and India as soon as possible," she said.
"We also discussed developments in the Middle East and in Ukraine. De-escalation, stability and energy security are our shared objectives," she added.
After his talks with German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul, Jaishankar said they exchanged notes on the conflict in West Asia.
"A valuable exchange of notes on the conflict in West Asia. Also took stock of the progress of our bilateral relations following the State visit of @bundeskanzler Friedrich Merz to India," he said.
