Columbia University pays ₹3 crore to a Jewish student who was suspended over the use of fart spray

Columbia (The Uttam Hindu): Columbia University has agreed to pay $395,000 (approximately ₹3 crore) to a Jewish student who was wrongfully suspended following an incident during a campus protest. The event occurred during a rally where around 100 student groups voiced their opposition to U.S. support for Israel's actions in Gaza. Initially, the incident was reported as a "chemical attack," but it was later revealed that the spray in question was a harmless fart spray purchased from Amazon. After the incident, several students reported symptoms such as nausea, abdominal pain, headaches, and irritated eyes, prompting both Columbia University and the New York Police Department (NYPD) to investigate it as a potential hate crime. However, school officials later confirmed that the spray posed no real danger.

A report titled *Antisemitism on College Campuses Exposed*, prepared by the Committee on Education & the Workforce of the U.S. House of Representatives, claims that Columbia University allowed a misleading narrative to persist for months, unfairly targeting Jewish students despite being aware of its inaccuracy. Initially, both Jewish students involved in the incident received 18-month suspensions, but after one of the students filed a lawsuit in April, the university reduced the punishment and agreed to the settlement.