House Report Criticizes University for Weak Discipline of Protesters
WASHINGTON — A U.S. House committee slammed New York’s Columbia University this week for failing to adequately discipline students who occupied the campus during Israel-Hamas war protests that lawmakers described as antisemitic.
Some students who were arrested during the spring protests are being allowed to return to class this fall without further punishment.
The Columbia University protests were among the first of a wave of similar campus protests nationwide.
A congressional report on the Columbia University protest is part of a broader attack by Republicans on elite college administrations.
The political pressure contributed to the resignation last week of Columbia University President Minouche Shafik.
The report consists largely of a spreadsheet that lists the disruptive actions by student protesters, whether they were arrested and whether the university took disciplinary action against them. The students generally were listed as being in “good standing,” suspended or allowed to continue in the school but on probation.
Republican Rep. Virginia Foxx of North Carolina, who chairs the House Education and Workforce Committee, said the lack of discipline created a dangerous precedent for future disturbances.
“The failure of Columbia’s invertebrate administration to hold accountable students who violate university rules and break the law is disgraceful and unacceptable,” Foxx said in a statement.
Anti-Israel protesters set up a campsite on Columbia University’s West Lawn and pledged to stay there until administrators divested all financial interests from Israel. They also occupied a campus building before being expelled by police.
The House Education and Workforce Committee spreadsheet showed that of the 22 students arrested April 30 after occupying Columbia University’s Hamilton Hall, 18 remain in good standing, three were suspended and one was put on probation.
All 27 students arrested off campus avoided disciplinary action because of “insufficient evidence.” Another 29 who faced interim suspensions had their punishments lifted.
“By allowing its own disciplinary process to be thwarted by radical students and faculty, Columbia has waved the white flag in surrender while offering up a get-out-of-jail-free card to those who participated in these unlawful actions,” Foxx said.
Foxx was joined by Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., in speaking at Columbia University in April during the protests. As they denounced antisemitism, they were loudly heckled.
The university estimated protesters did more than $1 million in damage, most of it while they occupied Hamilton Hall.
A spokesperson said the university “is committed to combating antisemitism and all forms of discrimination and taking sustained, concrete action toward a campus where everyone in our community feels valued and is able to thrive.”
The university also said it plans to continue with disciplinary proceedings after being overwhelmed by the number of them.
Columbia University’s fall semester begins Sept. 3. Some pro-Palestinian protesters have pledged to renew their protests.
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