A chaotic scene unfolded outside Butler Library on May 7. (Credit: Dante Dallago)
A student who says he complied with Columbia University Public Safety during a demonstration in Butler Library on May 7 still received a “Notice of Interim Suspension” from the University.
Nathaniel Wirth, a senior at Columbia University, says he was studying in the third floor reading room before protests, organized by Columbia University Apartheid Divest, broke out. But he was not involved, he said. Despite this, Wirth received a citation of suspension from the rules administrator at the University after showing his campus ID to public safety officials while exiting the building.
“I asked public safety if I had to leave 5 minutes before the protests really started and they said no, so I sat back down to do work,” Wirth said.
Pro-Palestinian protesters demonstrated in Butler Library on May 7. (Credit: Dante Dallago
Wirth said that he decided that the chanting had made it unproductive to stay, so he says he left a few minutes later. When Campus Safety asked him to show his ID before exiting, Wirth claims he even joked with the public safety officer before exiting the library.
“He asked me how I was studying with all of the noise,” Wirth said. “I told him I turned my techno music up on my headphones.”
The next day, Wirth received an electronic letter from the Rules of University Conduct board. Columbia News Service reviewed a copy.
“It has been alleged that on May 7, 2025, in the afternoon, you participated in a disruptive protest in 301 Butler Library,” the letter read. “Public Safety has identified you to the Rules Administrator as one of the individuals participating in this activity. Given the actions that Public Safety has identified you to be a part of, this activity can reasonably be construed to constitute a demonstration and thus the Rules apply.”
Wirth says he spoke to a group of about ten students who also received the suspension, without participating in the protests.
In response to questions about suspensions where people said they didn’t participate, Shipman’s office responded with the following statement: “Following the disruption at Butler Library on Wednesday, the University’s Rules Administrator immediately began an investigation into Rules violations, and Columbia participants are on interim suspension pending further investigation. Anyone who violated the law or broke Columbia’s policies and rules, including by engaging in violence and vandalism, will be held accountable, and we will use the full scope of our disciplinary system.”
Wirth’s suspension came one day before the University’s start of final exams. With an exam Monday and graduation looming, Wirth felt nervous the suspension would impact the end of his senior year.
He appealed his suspension to the rules administrator, providing video evidence that he was not participating in protests. Wirth’s suspension was lifted the following day.
“I was allowed back on campus Friday morning,” Wirth said. “But I was kind of expecting an apology from the school or something…maybe that’s too much to ask.”
About the author(s)
Caroline McCarthy is an MS student at Columbia Journalism School covering education, culture, business and politics.