Columbia University disciplines students who took part in campus protests

Columbia University announced Tuesday that it had punished students for participating in two school protests, including one at the library over its financial ties to Israel.

The university said in a lengthy statement that it was punishing an unspecified number of students who participated in a May pro-Palestinian protest at the university’s library, where nearly 80 people were detained, and a similar demonstration during its annual alumni weekend last year.

The statement stated that the school would not release the “individual disciplinary results of any student,” but it noted that “sanctions from Butler Library include probation, suspensions (ranging from one year to three years), degree revocations, and expulsions.”

“Our institution must focus on delivering on its academic mission for our community,” the university said. “And to create a thriving academic community, there must be respect for each other and the institution’s fundamental work, policies, and rules.”

“Disruptions to academic activities are in violation of University policies and Rules, and such violations will necessarily generate consequences,” it added.

Columbia University did not immediately respond to NBC News’ request for comment.

The Ivy League school’s disciplinary crackdown comes several months after the Trump administration cut hundreds of millions of dollars in federal research grants to the university.

Following those cuts, Columbia implemented a long list of new policies at the request of the Trump administration to begin negotiations on restoring federal funding.

The university agreed to adjust its disciplinary process, ban masks at protests in most cases, and hire dozens of new security officers, among other measures, according to a document the university stated it shared with the federal government and posted on its website.

Dozens of demonstrators occupied a room in the university’s Butler Library during the May protest, as students were studying for their final exams. Protesters wore keffiyehs, chanted slogans, and clashed with police and campus security officers, according to video of the demonstration posted on social media.

Police officers prevented the demonstrators from leaving the library without presenting identification for some time before they began arresting students, the videos show.

The protest resulted in the detainment of nearly 80 people, according to the New York Police Department. Two campus security officers were injured during the protest, the university said at the time, due to a crowd surge.