From James v. Columbia Univ., decided Thursday by N.Y. trial court judge Kathleen Waterman-Marshall:
This action arises from certain disciplinary actions by defendant Columbia University …, including Columbia's decision to place plaintiff Khymani James …, a third-year undergraduate student who identifies as a black, Caribbean-American, on a one-year suspension….
James was studying abroad in London during the fall semester of 2023 when they began posting social media content in support of Palestine. According to James, they subsequently received berating, insulting, and physically threatening social media messages as a result thereof. In an alleged effort to dissuade the individuals behind these messages from engaging with James or causing them any physical harm, James posted public messages including one stating:
Zionists in my dm wanting to meet up and fight lol. I don't fight to injure or for there to be a "winner" / "loser." I fight to k***[.] See yall in New York [] January 2024 [].
In response to alleged complaints regarding James' posts, Columbia's Center for Student Success and Intervention ("CSSI"), the office responsible for administering academic and behavioral discipline, scheduled a virtual meeting with James on January 9, 2024. Without Columbia's knowledge or consent, James livestreamed the CSSI meeting, at which James compared Zionists to Nazis and stated, [among other things], that "the world is better without them." After the meeting with CSSI, James continued the livestream and told their online audience to "be grateful" that he was not "murdering Zionists."
CSSI's policies and procedures prohibit: any unauthorized copying or distribution of any Columbia record, which includes audio or video recording or streaming; and any student from engaging in conduct that is inconsistent with Columbia's Non-Discrimination Statement and Policy. Specifically, CSSI's policies state:
The installation, use, and/or threatening the use of any device for listening to, observing, photographing, recording, amplifying, transmitting, or broadcasting sounds or events in any place where the individual(s) involved has a reasonable expectation of being free from unwanted surveillance, eavesdropping, recording, or observation, without the consent of all persons involved, is prohibited.
In March 2024, CSSI notified James that they may have violated Columbia's policies by: (1) livestreaming the January 9 meeting with CSSI, and (2) using language denigrating or showing hostility or aversion toward members of a protected class during the meeting. Following a disciplinary hearing, CSSI determined that James engaged in unauthorized surveillance/ photography and copying and/or distribution in violation of CSSI's policies and procedures, and violated Columbia's non-discrimination policy. Consequently, CSSI placed James on disciplinary probation through and including September 3, 2024; and advised that additional violations could result in more disciplinary consequences, but James' good academic standing would be restored if no further violations occurred during the probation period. The probation did not prohibit James from continuing their academic studies at Columbia.
On or about April 18, 2024, Columbia students set up an encampment on Columbia's Morningside Heights campus. Days later, while James and other students were protesting inside Columbia's gates, James contends that several Columbia students approached the encampment carrying an Israeli flag and accosted several other students participating in the protest. According to James, a shouting match ensued but the students carrying the flag subsequently walked away. James admits that they took a picture of such students and posted a message on social media stating: "Zionists just attempted to harass us and bring their terrorist flag over. We told them to get the hell out!"
On April 21, 2024, James participated and encouraged students to form a "human chain" after several other students allegedly physically attempted to enter the encampment while recording others without their consent and despite requests that such students cease recording.
James admits that they announced to the entire encampment that "Zionists have entered the encampment,' and asked that students link arms to prevent the students from getting further into the encampment. James asserts that this was merely a "non-violent safety measure" not intended to threaten, cause harm to, or prevent these students from leaving as there was sufficient space behind them to retreat.
On April 26, 2024, CSSI placed James on immediate interim suspension for "disruptive behavior by participating in an unapproved encampment on the West Lawn", engaging "in behavior that was threatening and" making "discriminatory remarks about other students during this unapproved protest." The interim suspension restricted James from all Columbia campuses, facilities, and properties, and prohibited James from participating in any Columbia classes or exams in-person or remotely or submitting assignments, as well as from any academic or extracurricular activities.
On April 26, 2024, Columbia leaders issued the following statement:
The antisemitism being expressed by some individuals is intolerable and the safety situation has become concerning, particularly with the involvement of individuals not associated with Columbia.
Chants, signs, taunts, and social media posts from our own students that mock and threaten to "kill" Jewish people are totally unacceptable, and Columbia students who are involved in such incidents will be held accountable. We can report that one individual whose vile videos have surfaced in recent days is now banned from campus.
CSSI held a hearing in July 2024, and determined that James engaged in disruptive behavior and violated Columbia's non-discrimination policy based upon the April 20, 2024 Social Media Post and the April 21, 2024 human chain incident. On August 7, 2024, CSSI suspended James from Columbia through September 1, 2025, since James was on probation at the time of the violations. CSSI's notice to James stated that they would be eligible to return to Columbia in the Fall 2025 semester….
