CAIR-NY Condemns Columbia Decision to Expel and Suspend Students for Butler Library Protest
(NEW YORK, NY, 7/22/25) - The New York chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-NY), a chapter of the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today condemned the decision by Columbia University to expel and suspend students tied to a protest in Butler Library earlier this year in May.
SEE: Columbia University expels, suspends about 80 students in pro-Palestine Butler Library occupation
SEE: CAIR-NY, CAIR Condemn Columbia U's Crackdown on Peaceful Anti-Genocide Student Protesters
Columbia University has expelled and issued mass suspensions to nearly 80 students for the May occupation of Butler Library. Students are facing suspensions for between one and three years, while some students have been expelled. The students face additional punishment from Columbia’s Office of Institutional Equity (“OIE”) for the same conduct. According to Columbia University Apartheid Divest (“CUAD”), students were also asked to submit apologies as a condition to be reinstated to campus. This comes after the NYPD forcibly removed student protestors from the library during the protest, leading to widespread reports of excessive force. Many students have remained on interim suspension for months, barred from returning to campus pending further investigation.
In a statement, CAIR-NY Executive Director Afaf Nasher, Esq., said:
“Columbia University's decision to mass-suspend students for a peaceful sit-in at the library is grotesquely oppressive. The students sat in unity to urge ending complicity in an active genocide. Columbia, seemingly bowing to political pressure from the Trump administration, has done more than undermine free speech and higher education. The University has sold its morality, academic integrity, and commitment to students.”
She added: “Prospective students should beware of institutions that, like Columbia, treat their community as dispensable products.”
CAIR-NY, along with CAIR National and the law firm of Dratel & Lewis, sued the University, Congress, and Executive Agencies to protect Columbia students, including Mahmoud Khalil, from further violations of students’ constitutional rights. The lawsuit alleges that the University and various federal actors have, among other things, violated our clients’ First Amendment rights.
CAIR launched its “Unhostile Campus Campaign” aimed at fostering a campus environment in which Palestinian, Muslim, Arab, Jewish, and other students, faculty, and staff opposing the genocide in Gaza enjoy free speech and academic freedom and are not subjected to state force or university discipline due to their viewpoints.
CAIR previously designated Columbia as an institution of particular concern due to reported incidents, policies, and discriminatory practices targeting Palestinian, Muslim, Arab, Jewish, and other individuals opposing the occupation, apartheid, and genocide.
Other institutions of particular concern may be found at: https://islamophobia.org/category/hostile-campuses/
CAIR-NY's mission is to protect civil rights, enhance understanding of Islam, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.
La misión de CAIR-NY es proteger las libertades civiles, mejorar la comprensión del Islam, promover la justicia, y empoderar a los musulmanes en los Estados Unidos.
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CONTACT: Afaf Nasher, CAIR-NY Executive Director, ANasher@cair.com; CAIR-NY Communications Team, comms@ny.cair.com; CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell, 404-285-9530, e-Mitchell@cair.com; CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw, 202-742-6448, rmccaw@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, ihooper@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Manager Ismail Allison, 202-770-6280, iallison@cair.com