Columbia University senior Maryam Alwan was visiting family in Jordan over winter break when she received an email from the school accusing her of discriminatory harassment. Her supposed top offense: writing an op-ed in the student newspaper calling for divestment from Israel.The probe is part of a flurry of recent cases brought by a new university disciplinary committee 맥스카지노� the Office of Institutional Equity 맥스카지노� against Columbia students who have expressed criticism of Israel, according to records shared with The Associated Press.In recent weeks, it has sent notices to dozens of students for activities ranging from sharing social media posts in support of Palestinian people to joining 맥스카지노�unauthorized맥스카지노� protests.One student activist is under investigation for putting up stickers off campus that mimicked 맥스카지노�Wanted맥스카지노� posters, bearing the likenesses of university trustees. Another, the president of a campus literary club, faces sanction for co-hosting an art exhibition in a private building that focused on last spring맥스카지노�s occupation of a campus building.In Alwan맥스카지노�s case, investigators said the unsigned op-ed in the Columbia Spectator, which also urged the school to curtail academic ties to Israel, may have subjected other students to 맥스카지노�unwelcome conduct맥스카지노� based on their religion, national origin or military service. They promised a thorough investigation, with sanctions ranging from a simple warning to expulsion.맥스카지노�It just felt so dystopian to have something go through rigorous edits, only to be labeled discriminatory because it맥스카지노�s about Palestine,맥스카지노� said Alwan, a Palestinian-American comparative studies major. 맥스카지노�It made me not want to write or say anything on the subject anymore.맥스카지노�The new disciplinary office is raising alarm among students, faculty and free speech advocates, who accuse the school of bowing to President Donald Trump's threats to slash funding to universities and deport campus 맥스카지노�agitators."맥스카지노�Based on how these cases have proceeded, the university now appears to be responding to governmental pressure to suppress and chill protected speech,맥스카지노� said Amy Greer, an attorney who is advising students accused of discrimination. 맥스카지노�It맥스카지노�s operating as a business by protecting its assets ahead of its students, faculty and staff.맥스카지노�Video below: Antisemitism, Islamophobia probe: Universities under fireColumbia is under financial pressureOn Monday, federal agencies announced they would consider cutting $51 million in contracts to the school 맥스카지노� along with billions more in additional grants 맥스카지노� due to its "ongoing inaction in the face of relentless harassment of Jewish students.맥스카지노�맥스카지노�We are resolute that calling for, promoting, or glorifying violence or terror has no place at our university,맥스카지노� Columbia said in a statement following the announcement.House Republicans have also launched their own review of Columbia맥스카지노�s disciplinary process. Their most recent letter gave administrators until Feb. 27 to turn over student disciplinary records for nearly a dozen campus incidents, including protests it claimed 맥스카지노�promoted terrorism and vilified the U.S. military," as well as the off-campus art exhibition.A spokesperson for Columbia declined to specify what, if any, records were turned over to Congress and whether they included the names of students. The spokesperson also declined to comment on any pending investigation of students.The new disciplinary committee was created last summer to 맥스카지노�fairly and expeditiously맥스카지노� address cases of discrimination, with the first notices going out in late November. Under its policy, speech against another country may be considered harassment if 맥스카지노�directed at or infused with discriminatory comments about persons from, or associated with, that country.맥스카지노�Jewish students at Columbia are among those who have received the notices for taking part in pro-Palestinian protests. Other Jewish students have said that rhetoric at protests has crossed into antisemitism and that the administration has been too tolerant of demonstrators who created a hostile environment for people who support Israel.In August, Columbia맥스카지노�s task force on antisemitism issued a report that said Jews and Israelis at the school were ostracized from student groups, humiliated in classrooms and subjected to verbal abuse as pro-Palestinian demonstrations shook the campus. In one instance, pro-Palestine protesters forced their way into a campus building, prompting university to call in the police and shut down campus.The task force has also offered its own definition of antisemitism, which includes discrimination or exclusion based on 맥스카지노�real or perceived ties to Israel,맥스카지노� as well as 맥스카지노�certain double standards applied to Israel,맥스카지노� such as calls for divestment solely from the country.That definition was intended to apply to education and training, rather than discipline, according to the task force.Disciplinary committee works in secretUnder the office맥스카지노�s policies, students are required to sign a nondisclosure agreement before accessing case materials or speaking with investigators, ensuring the process has remained shrouded in secrecy since it began late last year. Aspects of the committee맥스카지노�s work were first reported this week by the online publication Drop Site News.Those who have met with investigators say they were asked to name other people involved in pro-Palestinian groups and protests on campus. They said the investigators did not provide clear guidance on whether certain terms 맥스카지노� such as 맥스카지노�Zionist맥스카지노� or 맥스카지노�genocide맥스카지노� 맥스카지노� would be considered harassment.Several students and faculty who spoke with the AP said the committee accused them of participating in demonstrations they did not attend or helping to circulate social media messages they did not post.Mahmoud Khalil, a graduate student who served as a negotiator for pro-Palestinian protesters during the previous spring맥스카지노�s encampment, said he was accused by the office of misconduct just weeks before his graduation this December. 맥스카지노�I have around 13 allegations against me, most of them are social media posts that I had nothing to do with,맥스카지노� he said.After refusing to sign the nondisclosure agreement, Khalil said the university put a hold on his transcript and threatened to block him from graduating. But when he appealed the decision through a lawyer, they eventually backed down, Khalil said.맥스카지노�They just want to show Congress and right-wing politicians that they맥스카지노�re doing something, regardless of the stakes for students,맥스카지노� Khalil said. 맥스카지노�It맥스카지노�s mainly an office to chill pro-Palestine speech.맥스카지노�According to some students, the disciplinary push may be reigniting the pro-Palestinian protest movement that roiled campuses last year.In recent days, students have occupied multiple buildings at Barnard College, an affiliate of Columbia University, to protest the expulsion of two students accused of disrupting an Israeli history class. Several students were arrested following an hourslong takeover of a building Wednesday night.