House Report Criticizes University for Weak Discipline of Protesters

WASHINGTON -- A U.S. House Committee slammed New York’s Columbia University last week for failing to adequately discipline students who occupied a campus building during Israel-Hamas war protests that lawmakers described as anti-semitic.

Similar to George Washington University, some students who were arrested during the spring protests are being allowed to return to class this fall.

Although the Columbia University protests were among the first, they helped to set off a wave of campus protests nationwide.

A congressional report on the Columbia University protest is part of a broader attack by Republicans on elite college administrations.

The report consists largely of a spreadsheet that lists the disruptive actions by student protesters, whether they were arrested and whether the university took disciplinary action against them. The students generally were listed as being in “good standing,” suspended or allowed to continue in the school but on probation.

Rep. Virginia Foxx of North Carolina, who chairs the House Education and Workforce Committee, said the lack of discipline created a dangerous precedent for future problems.

"The failure of Columbia’s invertebrate administration to hold accountable students who violate university rules and break the law is disgraceful and unacceptable," Foxx said in a statement.

At Columbia University, anti-Israel protesters set up a campsite on the school's West Lawn and pledged to stay there until administrators divested all financial interests from Israel.

During a similar protest at George Washington University, protesters camped out in tents in the University Yard and nearby H Street. Police shut down the encampment and arrested 33 protesters after saying they were becoming more aggressive.

A smaller protest took place at nearby Georgetown University.

The House Education and Workforce Committee spreadsheet showed that of the 22 students arrested April 30 after occupying Columbia University’s Hamilton Hall, 18 remain in good standing, three were suspended and one was put on probation.

All 27 students arrested off campus avoided disciplinary action because of "insufficient evidence." Another 29 who faced interim suspensions had their punishments lifted.

“By allowing its own disciplinary process to be thwarted by radical students and faculty, Columbia has waved the white flag in surrender while offering up a get-out-of-jail-free card to those who participated in these unlawful actions,” Foxx said.

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