The House of Representatives Committee on Education and the Workforce stated in a recent report that the University settled $395,000 with one of the students who was suspended after spraying a substance at a January 19 pro-Palestine protest. 

The University has reached a $395,000 settlement with one of two students who allegedly used a “chemical weapon” on protesting students during a January 19 pro-Palestine protest on campus. The House of Representatives Committee on Education and the Workforce stated the alleged “weapon” used by the perpetrator was found to be a novelty “fart spray” as opposed to a chemical weapon, therefore granting the perpetrating student to a settlement and commutation of disciplinary action.

Background

On January 19, a protest was held on Low Steps in support of Yemen and Gaza. After the protest, the since-deleted Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) Instagram page stated that protesters were sprayed by skunk, an “illegal” and “foul-smelling liquid” they stated was allegedly created in 2008 by Israeli soldiers “as a crowd-control weapon for use against Palestinians.” Their post also claimed that the perpetrators were former IDF soldiers and described the event as a “hate crime that has permanently destroyed the property of dozens of students.” 

At a later protest held by Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD), various participants of the January 19 protest were reported to have been hospitalized. SJP claimed two of these students were “rushed to the hospital in an ambulance.” A statement by the newly-founded Columbia Palestine Solidarity Coalition (CPSC) claimed that at least ten students were hospitalized as a result of the incident. 

Students reported various symptoms, including burning eyes, blurred vision, nose and skin irritation, nausea and vomiting, headaches, lightheadedness, chest tightness, and abnormal heart rates. One individual who was reportedly sprayed claimed that a doctor called poison control and “confirmed injuries due to chemical exposure.”

Following the incident, discrepancies in language could be seen in the responses from student groups as compared to those from University administration. Two days after the protest, the University reached out to Bwog confirming knowledge of an “alleged incident,” without further elaboration on the nature of the spraying. The University also told Bwog the NYPD was “taking a lead role” in the investigation. They later referred to the January 19 spraying as “incidents of great concern.” In another message, Columbia Interim Provost Dennis Mitchell stated that the alleged perpetrators were banned from campus and the NYPD was investigating what “appear to have been serious crimes, possibly hate crimes.”

Meanwhile, Columbia SJP referred to the spraying agent as a “chemical weapon” in a statement. “We want to make it clear that Columbia University facilitated the chemical attack on Friday through sustained negligence and emboldenment of Zionist hatred for months,” they stated on Instagram. 

Settlement 

On October 31, the House of Representatives Committee on Education and the Workforce released a report on antisemitism in college campuses. The report noted the spraying, claiming that the agent used was not the “skunk spray” used by the Israeli military, but instead a novelty “fart spray” bought from Amazon, as shown by receipts. The report also disclosed that the four administrators on scene, Columbia’s Vice President for Communications and Spokesperson Ben Chang, Executive Vice President of Facilities and Operations David M. Greenberg, Associate Vice President of Internal Communications Robert Hornsby, and Vice President of Public Safety Gerald Lewis had not “detected or heard about” the spray during the protest. 

The committee alleged that the University did not treat Jewish students and “anti-Israel” students equally and refused to set the record straight “[d]espite the lack of corroborating evidence.” It claims that the University only corrected their statement after they settled with one of the students that was suspended from campus for spraying the fart spray. This student filed a lawsuit in April 2024 claiming excessive and disproportionate discipline. The settlement that was made on August 30 required that the University correct previous statements, clarifying that that the spray was not “any biological chemical weapon, illicit substance or personal protective spray” and was instead “a non-toxic, legal, novelty item.” The student most notably received $395,000 and a reduced suspension from the year and a half that was previously given to conditional disciplinary probation. According to the Columbia Standards & Discipline document, conditional disciplinary probation acknowledges a student violated policy and allows for them to remain in good disciplinary standing unless future violations occur, citing “mitigating circumstances.”

The House report also claims, “The false narrative that Israeli students perpetrated a ‘chemical attack’ with ‘skunk spray’ is more than an example of disparate disciplinary treatment.” They stated that the University’s “failure to correct the record” permitted a false narrative to be used by antisemitic students and faculty to vilify Israeli students and call for their exclusion.” 

In response to the House report, the newly-founded Columbia Palestine Solidarity Coalition (CPSC) posted to Instagram, condemning it as an effort to “distract from the ongoing genocide in Gaza.” CPSC commented on excerpts of the report, stating, “Columbia is financially rewarding an IOF soldier who intentionally harmed their peers at a campus protest.” The post also highlighted “dozens of false reports” of “incidents disingenuously reported as ‘antisemitism,’” including “a Muslim prayer during the encampment” and “a graduation speech mourning the deaths of Palestinians.” CPSC, which recently formed to “reclaim the pro-Palestinian student movement,” characterized the report as evidence that “Columbia University tolerates and rewards zionist [sic] violence on campus.”

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