Columbia University disciplines dozens of students, agrees to $220 million payment over campus antisemitism

Columbia University announced on Tuesday that it is disciplining over 70 students involved in anti-Israel protests, in which the students took over the Butler Library and created a pro-Palestine encampment on the New York City campus. 

The move came as part of steps taken by the university to address concerns of antisemitism on campus after the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump withheld $400 million in federal funding from the school over failure to adequately tackle the problem of antisemitic incidents following the outbreak of the Oct. 7, 2023, Iron Swords War. 

While the university did not specify the individual cases, disciplinary actions include expulsions, probation, degree revocations, and suspensions of one to three years. It did not announce the exact number of students receiving discipline, but several U.S. media outlets reported the number as over 70 students. 

Since the beginning of the war, Columbia University has seen multiple anti-Israel protests, along with several incidents of antisemitic behavior directed at non-Israeli Jewish students. After his inauguration, President Trump canceled $400 million in government grants and funding to the school over the rampant antisemitism. 

In an effort to restore federal funding, the university began negotiating with the Trump administration to address the concerns. The university already announced sanctions against students involved in a break-in at Hamilton Hall in April of 2024, while the latest set of sanctions concern actions from the most recent academic year. 

Alongside the announcement of the disciplinary action against offending students, the university announced on Wednesday that it had agreed to payments totaling $221 million as part of the efforts to restore government grants and research funding. 

The actions by the Trump administration against Columbia were some of the most significant steps ever taken against a U.S. university, and led some Democrats to accuse Trump of using antisemitism as an excuse to carry out a campaign of reshaping higher educational institutions. 

Under the agreement, the university will pay $200 million to the U.S. government over three years, and it will also pay $21 million to settle investigations brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission over alleged discrimination against Jewish staff. 

This agreement marks an important step forward after a period of sustained federal scrutiny and institutional uncertainty,' acting University President Claire Shipman said. 

President Trump wrote a post on Truth Social celebrating the deal:

“I am pleased to announce that the Trump Administration has reached a historic agreement with Columbia University. Columbia has agreed to pay a penalty of $200 Million Dollars to the United States Government for violating Federal Law, in addition to over $20 Million to their Jewish employees who were unlawfully targeted and harassed."

“Columbia has also committed to ending their ridiculous DEI ("diversity, equity, and inclusion") policies, admitting students based ONLY on MERIT, and protecting the Civil Liberties of their students on campus. Numerous other Higher Education Institutions that have hurt so many, and been so unfair and unjust, and have wrongly spent federal money, much of it from our government, are upcoming.” 

Shipman noted that the agreement does not include an admission of wrongdoing on the part of the university, claiming the settlement “was carefully crafted to protect the values that define us and allow our essential research partnership with the federal government to get back on track.” 

“Importantly, it safeguards our independence, a critical condition for academic excellence and scholarly exploration, work that is vital to the public interest,” she stated. 

Columbia University is one of the highest profile targets of President Trump’s crackdown on campus protests and antisemitism brought on by the Iron Swords War.