Columbia University Makes Policy Changes in Response to Trump Admin’s Demands to Combat Anti-Semitism

The Trump administration had pulled $400 million in federal grants to the university over its alleged failure to address anti-Semitism.

Pro-Palestinian demonstrators hold a short rally after marching around the "Gaza Solidarity Encampment" in the West Lawn of Columbia University in New York City on April 29, 2024. Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

Columbia University Interim President Katrina Armstrong announced on March 21 that the university has agreed to implement a raft of policy changes in response to the Department of Education’s requirements for combatting campus anti-Semitism in order to receive federal funding.

The changes include a student mask ban—unless for health or religious reasons, a revised admissions and recruitment process, and strict administrative oversight from a new senior vice provost who will monitor certain academic majors that, in the past, had provided anti-Semitic instruction.

The university will also conduct an immediate review of its Middle Eastern studies department.

Additionally, Armstrong announced that the campus judicial board for disciplining students will be made up of administrators and faculty members from now on. Also, the campus public safety staff is being increased to better handle disruptive situations, and the “intellectual diversity” in the faculty will be expanded, according to Armstrong.

“We have worked hard to address the legitimate concerns raised both from within and without our Columbia community, including by our regulators, with respect to the discrimination, harassment and antisemitic acts our Jewish community has faced in the wake of October 7, 2023,” a policy memo read.

The Trump administration recently canceled $400 million in grants to Columbia, which was on track to get $5 billion in federal aid for the 2024-2025 academic year, following an investigation into alleged anti-Semitic disruptions and campus vandalism amid pro-Palestinian protests leading up to the resignation of former university President Nemat “Minouche” Shafik.

The Epoch Times has reached out to the White House and Department of Education for further comment.

In a March 19 statement, Armstrong acknowledged the nine conditions and wrote that the school had taken corrective steps, although the letter did not note actions that specifically correspond to each of the conditions sent to her on March 13.

Meanwhile, a federal court on March 20 issued a temporary order blocking Columbia from releasing student disciplinary records to the House Education Committee and the Workforce, which is looking into allegations related to anti-Semitism at the school.

U.S. Southern District Court Judge Arun Subramanian’s ruling set a March 25 hearing to determine further actions in a lawsuit filed by Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian graduate student at Columbia and U.S. green card holder who was arrested by Immigration Customs Enforcement after leading protests last year against Israel’s military response to the Hamas terrorist attack on Oct. 7, 2023. Khalil, the lead plaintiff in the case, is now facing deportation.

Afaf Nasher, executive director of the Council on American Islamic Relations New York chapter, a secondary plaintiff in Khalil’s case, said she believes the lawsuit had delayed negotiations between Columbia and the Trump administration.

“As of right now, Columbia is prohibited from sharing any information with the federal government,” Nasher told The Epoch Times on March 21, before Armstrong’s announcement.

March 19 court papers filed by Khalil accuse the federal government of leveraging hundreds of millions of dollars in federal aid to force Columbia University to “adopt an Israel-specific speech code that would punish students for criticizing Israel in the common and typical ways people criticize foreign countries.”

Subramanian did not grant the plaintiff’s request to restore the university’s federal funding.

Nasher said the lawsuit aims to preserve First Amendment rights and academic freedom at Columbia.

“This was an unprecedented assault on freedom of speech,” he said. “Ultimately, the goal is to protect the students.”

Correction: A previous version of this article’s deck misstated the amount of funding to Columbia canceled by the federal government. The Epoch Times regrets the error.