Columbia SJP loses court challenge against suspension for policy violations

Columbia University’s chapter of the controversial anti-Israel student group Students for Justice for Palestine (SJP) recently lost its lawsuit challenging its suspension which was implemented during the 2023–2024 school year.

“After reviewing the record, the court finds that Columbia University’s decision to temporarily suspend the petitioners from their status as recognized student groups was neither arbitrary or capricious, irrational, or in violation of clearly established university policies,” Judge Nicholas Moyne of the New York State Supreme Court wrote in the decision, according to Reason.

“Accordingly, the petition is denied and the cross-motion to dismiss the petition is granted,” Moyne continued. “All student groups at Columbia are subject to and required to comply with Columbia’s special events policies, which govern, inter alia, when, where, and how events on campus, including protests and demonstrations, may be held and what notice needs to be given to university officials prior to the commencement of any student group events, demonstrations, or protests.”

[RELATED: The ugly truth about 477% increase in anti-Semitic incidents: WATCH]

The Columbia administration suspended its SJP and Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) groups last November after both “repeatedly violated university policies related to holding campus events, culminating in an unauthorized event” that “proceeded despite warnings and included threatening rhetoric and intimidation,” according to The Algeimener.

In October, a new pro-Palestine student group formed at Columbia: the Columbia Palestine Solidarity Coalition (CPSC). According to an op-ed the group published online, the organization formed in response to what it saw as a lack of focus from Columbia’s main anti-Israel student organization, Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD).

“The Columbia Palestine Solidarity Coalition is a collective of Palestinian student organizers who wish to reclaim the pro-Palestinian student movement and recenter Palestine at Columbia University,” members of CPSC wrote in the op-ed.

“Our peers are unaware of the severity of the situation because CUAD has lost focus, opting to center individual organizers and revolutionary ideals over our core demands,” the group continued. “Statements and actions by CUAD in recent months have alienated and abandoned Palestinian students in the name of pursuing ideology.”

[RELATED: 44% of Jewish students don’t feel safe on their own campus: Poll]

Columbia also recently settled a lawsuit filed by a Jewish student, agreeing to pay the student almost $400,000 for an improper suspension after what was initially deemed a “chemical attack,” but was later understood to be the deployment of a novelty “fart spray.”

“By late February, the University had learned that the incident was not a ‘chemical attack’ but rather a non-toxic spray,” the House Committee on Education and the Workforce explained in a recent report. “While this conduct was inappropriate and a violation of University rules meriting discipline, it was also clearly a far less serious incident than characterized by anti-Israel activists or to the public.”

“Columbia only corrected the record on the spray incident after reportedly reaching a $395,000 settlement with one of the students responsible for the incident,” the report continued.

Campus Reform has contacted Columbia University for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.