Columbia University Expels Some Students Involved in 2024 Hamilton Hall Takeover

The sanctions come days after U.S. immigration agents arrested a former Columbia University graduate student who led pro-Palestinian protests last year.

A pro-Palestinian demonstrator breaks a window in the front door of Columbia University's Hamilton Hall to secure a chain around it to prevent authorities from entering, in New York, on April 30, 2024. Alex Kent/Getty Images

Columbia University said on March 13 that it has expelled or suspended some students who took over its Hamilton Hall last year amid pro-Palestinian protests, and temporarily rescinded the diplomas of others who have graduated.

In a campus-wide email, the university said its judicial board levied a range of sanctions against the students who occupied the building last year while protesting the Israel-Hamas war.