Along with multi-year suspensions and expulsions, it’s unclear how many students and graduates are impacted.

Columbia University Revokes Degrees
of Pro-Palestine Protesters
Jessica Corbett / Common Dreams & TruthOut

(March 14, 2025) — As the Trump administration’s effort to deport Mahmoud Khalil sparks legal battles and demonstrations, Columbia University announced Thursday that it has revoked degrees from some other pro-Palestinian campus protesters.

A campuswide email reported by The Associated Press and shared on social media by Drop Site Newssays that “the Columbia University Judicial Board determined findings and issued sanctions to students ranging from multiyear suspensions, temporary degree revocations, and expulsions related to the occupation of Hamilton Hall last spring.”

According to both news outlets, the university’s email did not say how many students and graduates were impacted by each action.

As part of nationwide protests over the U.S. government and educational institutions’ complicity in Israel’s assault on the Gaza Strip, Columbia students took over the building last April and renamed it Hind’s Hall, in honor of a young Palestinian girl killed by Israeli forces. With support from the university’s leadership, New York Police Department officers stormed the campus.

Columbia’s new sanctions against protesters were widely condemned on social media. Iowa-based writer Gavin Aronsen quipped, “This is a great PR strategy, come to Columbia where you’ll get a solid education as long as you never speak your mind.”

News of the university’s latest action on Thursday came after over 100 people were arrested outside Trump Tower in New York City during a Jewish-led protest over the government’s attempt to deport Khalil, a green-card holder who finished his studies at Columbia in December.

“The Trump administration’s outrageous detention of Mahmoud Khalil is designed to sow terror and stop people of conscience from calling for Palestinian freedom,” said Ros Petchesky, an 82-year-old MacArthur fellow and Columbia alumna. “We are Jewish New Yorkers and we remain steadfast in our commitment to Palestinian freedom, to protecting free speech and the right to protest, and to defending immigrants and all under attack by the Trump regime.”

Meanwhile, during a Thursday interview with NPRabout Khalil’s detention, Troy Edgar, deputy homeland security secretary, equated protesting and terrorism.

This piece was reprinted by Truthout with permission or license. It may not be reproduced in any form without permission or license from the source. 

Truthout is an indispensable resource for activists, movement leaders and workers everywhere. Please make this work possible.

Posted in accordance with Title 17, Section 107, US Code, for noncommercial, educational purposes.