Columbia University makes comprehensive policy changes under pressure from the Trump administration
Columbia University agreed on Friday to put the Middle East Research Department under new supervision and overhaul its protest and student discipline rules, defaulting on the Trump administration’s extraordinary last resort to implementing these and other changes, or risking loss of billions of dollars in federal funds.
As part of a radical reform, the university will also expand the new definition of anti-Semitism and expand “intellectual diversity” by equipping its Institute of Israel and Jewish Studies as part of a radical reform.
The news drew immediate condemnation from some faculty and free speech organizations, who accused U.S. principal Donald Trump of an unprecedented invasion in the school’s academic freedom.
“Colombia’s surrender has jeopardized academic freedom and campus expression across the country,” Donna Lieberman, executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, said in a statement.
Funds raise protests in Gaza
Earlier this month, the Trump administration collected $400 million in research grants and other funds from universities to deal with protests against Israel’s military campaign in Gaza. As a prerequisite for restoring those funds, and billions of dollars in future grants, federal officials last week asked the university to immediately implement nine independent reforms to its academic and security policies.
Armstrong said in his response on Friday that Colombia will implement almost all of this. By ordering, it will hire new public safety personnel and authorize them to arrest on campus, forbid students from protesting in academic buildings and changing their long-standing student discipline process.
Students will no longer be allowed to wear masks on campus to “cover their identity.” An exception will be made to those who wear them for health reasons.
The university will also appoint a new senior provost to review leadership and curriculum in several international research departments to “ensure that educational products are comprehensive and balanced.”
The appointment appears to be a concession to the Trump administration’s most controversial demand: The university puts the middle East, South Asia and African research sectors under “academic takeover for at least five years.”
Ranjani Srinivasan, a PhD student at Columbia University, called her a “terrorist sympathizer” ridiculous allegations, told CBC’s David Common that she was worried about her safety after U.S. immigration and customs law enforcement officers showed up at her doorstep.
The Trump administration has repeatedly accused Columbia University of the University of anti-Semitism uncontrolled during protests that began last spring at the university and spread rapidly to other campuses – a feature that was disputed by those involved by demonstrators.
Armstrong said in the letter that the university worked hard to address reasonable issues faced by our Jewish community, from within and without our Colombian community, including our regulators. ”
“The way Colombians and Colombians are portrayed is hard to ignore,” she said. “We have challenges, yes, but they don’t define us.”
The Trump administration has launched attacks on Colombia in recent weeks, which has put the campus in crisis and raised concerns about additional retaliation from universities across the country.
On March 8, federal immigration officials arrested Mahmoud Khalil, a well-known Palestinian activist and legal permanent resident in his university apartment building, a “first” in Trump’s “many” attempts to deport.
The U.S. Department of Justice leaders say they are also investigating whether Colombia hides the students the U.S. seeks in the role of the demonstration.
Free Speech Group warned Columbia on Friday that its response to the Trump threat would go far beyond the Manhattan campus.
“Warring under pressure from the government, Columbia collapsed,” said Tyler Coward, chief adviser to the Foundation for Government Affairs of the Individual Rights and Speech.
“If Colombia had a huge resource and influence – it could not stand the government’s demands for threatening freedom of speech, what else would other universities do?”
