Three anti-Israel protesters claim Columbia University wrongly suspended them and booted them from their student housing because of their politics.
Catherine Curran-Groome, Aidan Parisi and Brandon Murphy also claimed they were injured during the on-campus protests, according to a Feb. 3 lawsuit.
Parisi and Murphy, both postgraduate social work students, were among the protesters cuffed and hauled away from Columbia in April after the school’s then-president, Minouche Shafik, called in the NYPD to clear out an ongoing encampment.
All three were due to graduate in May, but received 1- and 2-year suspensions in June. Curran-Groome, a masters of international affairs student, also had her full scholarship revoked, according to court papers.
“The University has substantially departed from its established rules and policies to unlawfully target and punish plaintiffs for their engagement in … protests, vigils, teach-ins, and other non-violent events,” they alleged. “The University did so in order to silence and de facto expel plaintiffs.”
Parisi and Curran-Groome also claimed they were hit with “skunk spray” by two students who are former IDF soldiers after attending a pro-Palestinian demonstration, and suffered headaches, nausea and breathing problems for weeks.
Columbia received numerous complaints about the two students, “yet did nothing to protect students from their anti-Palestinian violence,” according to the lawsuit.
The students are seeking unspecified damages. A university spokesperson declined comment on the litigation.
