Columbia University has agreed to President Donald Trump’s demand that the school address rampant campus antisemitism or risk permanently losing $400 million in federal funding.
Trump pulled $400 million of federal grants and contracts from the school earlier this month over concerns that the Ivy League school failed to protect Jewish students from radical anti-Israel demonstrations. Columbia was home to one of the largest anti-Israel protests last year, during which students set up a disruptive encampment on campus and called for the eradication of the Jewish state.
The university said when Trump’s actions were first announced that it would “work with the federal government to restore Columbia’s federal funding.” The Trump administration presented Columbia with a list of demands it must follow before federal funding is restored, some of which include banning masks that allow students to hide their identities and allowing campus law enforcement to arrest protesters who pose a threat to campus. Columbia has agreed to them, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday.
Columbia will also “ensure unbiased admissions processes” in accordance with Trump’s demands and appoint a vice provost to head the school’s controversial department of Middle East, South Asian, and African Studies and Center for Palestine Studies. The provost’s role will “ensure the educational offerings are comprehensive and balanced,” the school said, as reported by the WSJ.
“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,” the school wrote in a memorandum.
The school has also agreed to curb disruptive anti-Israel protests and include in its definition of antisemitism the exclusion of Jews based on Zionist or anti-Zionist tendencies and celebrating violence against Israelis, the WSJ reported. Jewish students at Columbia have said they were unable to participate in some campus clubs because of their Zionist beliefs.
Columbia will also take steps not outlined by Trump to stop antisemitism on campus. The school will adopt a policy of “institutional neutrality” and refrain from commenting in an official capacity on most political issues, will launch programs at its Tel Aviv educational hub, and will create a free K–12 curriculum on open discourse; Columbia has started a search for faculty members who will “contribute to a robust and intellectually diverse academic environment, reinforcing the University’s commitment to excellence and fairness in Middle East studies.”
“Universities must comply with all federal antidiscrimination laws if they are going to receive federal funding. For too long, Columbia has abandoned that obligation to Jewish students studying on its campus,” Education Secretary Linda McMahon said when Trump’s demands were released. “Today, we demonstrate to Columbia and other universities that we will not tolerate their appalling inaction any longer.”