Facing Trump's threats, Columbia investigates students critical of
Israel
[March 06, 2025]
By JAKE OFFENHARTZ
NEW YORK (AP) — Columbia University senior Maryam Alwan was visiting
family in Jordan over winter break when she received an email from the
school accusing her of harassment. Her supposed top offense: writing an
op-ed in the student newspaper calling for divestment from Israel.
The university has launched a flurry of investigations, led by a new
disciplinary committee — the Office of Institutional Equity — to
identify Columbia students who have expressed criticism of Israel,
according to records shared with The Associated Press.
In recent weeks, it has sent notices to dozens of students for
activities ranging from sharing social media posts in support of
Palestinian people to joining “unauthorized” protests. One student
activist is under investigation for putting up stickers off campus that
mimicked “Wanted” posters, bearing the likenesses of university
trustees. Another, the president of a campus literary club, faces
sanction for co-hosting an art exhibition off campus that focused on
last spring’s occupation of a campus building.
In Alwan’s case, investigators said the unsigned op-ed in the Columbia
Spectator, which also urged the school to curtail academic ties to
Israel, may have subjected other students to “unwelcome conduct” based
on their religion, national origin or military service. Jewish students
are among those under investigation for criticizing Israel.
“It just felt so dystopian to have something go through rigorous edits,
only to be labeled discriminatory because it’s about Palestine,” said
Alwan, a Palestinian-American comparative studies major. “It made me not
want to write or say anything on the subject anymore.”
The committee informed her that possible sanctions for violating school
policy ranged from a simple warning to expulsion.
The new disciplinary office is raising alarm among students, faculty and
free speech advocates, who accuse the school of bowing to President
Donald Trump's threats to slash funding to universities and deport
campus “agitators."
“Based on how these cases have proceeded, the university now appears to
be responding to governmental pressure to suppress and chill protected
speech,” said Amy Greer, an attorney who is advising students accused of
discrimination. “It’s operating as a business by protecting its assets
ahead of its students, faculty and staff.”
Columbia is under financial pressure
On Monday, federal agencies announced they would consider cutting $51
million in contracts to the school — along with billions more in
additional grants — due to its "ongoing inaction in the face of
relentless harassment of Jewish students.”
“We are resolute that calling for, promoting, or glorifying violence or
terror has no place at our university,” Columbia said in a statement
following the announcement.
House Republicans have also launched their own review of Columbia’s
disciplinary process. Their most recent letter gave administrators until
Feb. 27 to turn over student disciplinary records for nearly a dozen
campus incidents, including protests it claimed “promoted terrorism and
vilified the U.S. military," as well as the off-campus art exhibition.
A spokesperson for Columbia declined to specify what, if any, records
were turned over to Congress and whether they included the names of
students, adding that they could not comment on pending investigations.
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Maryam Alwan, who was arrested and suspended after her arrest at the
"Gaza Solidarity Encampment" in 2024 at New York's Columbia
University in 2024, is photographed outside the campus, Wednesday,
March 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
The new disciplinary committee was created last summer. According to
the university's updated harassment policy, criticism of another
country’s policies could be considered harassment if “directed at or
infused with discriminatory comments about persons from, or
associated with, that country.” The policy notes that “the use of
code words may implicate" it.
Some Jewish students at Columbia took part in pro-Palestinian
protests. Other Jewish students have said that rhetoric at protests
has crossed into antisemitism and that the administration has been
too tolerant of demonstrators who created a hostile environment for
people who support Israel.
Disciplinary committee works in secret
Under the office’s policies, students are required to sign a
non-disclosure agreement before accessing case materials or speaking
with investigators, ensuring the process has remained shrouded in
secrecy since it began late last year. Aspect of the committee’s
work were first reported this week by the online publication Drop
Site News.
Those who have met with investigators say they were asked to name
other people involved in pro-Palestinian groups and protests on
campus. They said the investigators did not provide clear guidance
on whether certain terms — such as “Zionist” or “genocide” — would
be considered harassment.
Several students and faculty who spoke with the AP said the
committee accused them of participating in demonstrations they did
not attend or helping to circulate social media messages they did
not post.
Mahmoud Khalil, a graduate student who served as a negotiator for
pro-Palestinian protesters during the previous spring’s encampment,
said he was accused by the office of misconduct just weeks before
his graduation this December. “I have around 13 allegations against
me, most of them are social media posts that I had nothing to do
with,” he said.
After refusing to sign the non-disclosure agreement, Khalil said the
university put a hold on his transcript and threatened to block him
from graduating. But when he appealed the decision through a lawyer,
they eventually backed down, Khalil said.
“They just want to show Congress and right-wing politicians that
they’re doing something, regardless of the stakes for students,”
Khalil said. “It’s mainly an office to chill pro-Palestine speech.”
According to some students, the disciplinary push may be reigniting
the pro-Palestinian protest movement that roiled campuses last year.
In recent days, students have occupied multiple buildings at Barnard
College, an affiliate of Columbia University, to protest the
expulsion of two students accused of disrupting an Israeli history
class. Several students were arrested following an hourslong
takeover of a building Wednesday night.
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