WASHINGTON

Columbia University has handed down a variety of disciplinary actions to dozens of students for their involvement in pro-Palestine campus protests, the school and a student group said Tuesday.

Columbia said the penalties are being imposed on students who took part in a protest at Butler Library in May, as well as a spring 2024 student encampment on campus grounds. Punishments encompass probation, suspensions ranging from one to three years, degree revocations and expulsions.

"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 said.

The school did not specify the number of affected students, but the Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD) student group said that nearly 80 students were affected.

The students were informed of the action Monday, and suspended individuals were told they would have to submit formal apologies before they would be permitted to return to campus, said CUAD. Should they refuse to comply, their suspensions would become "de facto expulsions," the student group said.

It further alleged that the punishments are part of a forthcoming deal the university is seeking to broker with federal officials after the Trump administration cut off hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding from the school.

"The sanctions are believed to be part of a federal deal Columbia is about to announce that includes a formal partnership with the zionist Anti-Defamation League and an agreement to use the IHRA's definition of antisemitism, which equates criticism of Israel with discrimination against Jews," it said in a statement.

"While Columbia likes to position itself as opposed to government overreach, the record demonstrates active collusion, not reluctant concessions," it added.