The complaint, filed in state court, alleges the school officials not only failed to adequately protect students, faculty and staff from harm on campus, but “actively encouraged" mistreatment, including subjecting the students to "unfair and biased disciplinary hearings." School officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The allegations include Columbia's alleged failure to respond to repeated incidents of keffiyehs being ripped off Palestinian students and physical assaults on Palestinian and pro-Palestinian students attending protests, including an instance in which several students were attacked with a foul-smelling chemical substance. The complaint also says the university failed to take appropriate action to address discriminatory and racist statements made against Palestinian students, including by medical center employees and senior administrators. Columbia also targeted pro-Palestinian protesters and Palestinian students, according to the complaint, including by surveilling a pro-Palestinian teach-in and suspending several students who attended.