Columbia University Addresses White House Demands in Bid to Restore Funding
On March 7, President Donald Trump cut $400 million of federal funding to Columbia University in response to a year of disruptive campus protests over the Israel-Hamas conflict.
The university was given an ultimatum to meet demands set forth by the White House in order to regain its funding from the US government. On March 13, a letter from officials in the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Education, and General Services Administration was sent to the Columbia University Interim-President and Board of Trustees.
The letter includes demands to implement several policies designed to lessen campus protests, prevent them from being disruptive, and hold unruly protesters accountable.
One of the demands is the enactment of “time, place and manner rules” with the goal of preventing disruption to any form of regular campus activity.
A notable demand explained in the letter is a ban on masks. This is directed at protesters using masks to either conceal their identity or intimidate others (excluding health or religious reasons for wearing a mask). Anyone wearing a mask, according to the letter, “must wear their Columbia ID on the outside of their clothing.”
In a memo titled “Fulfilling Our Commitments,” Columbia’s Interim President Katrina Armstrong announced that the university will comply with this demand.
Students who don’t comply with this mask policy will be subject to discipline, including, but not limited to, being trespassed from campus.
The White House also asked the university to establish a definition of antisemitism, including Anti-“Zionist” demonstrations. In response, Armstrong said the definition “recommended by Columbia’s Antisemitism Taskforce in August 2024” will be incorporated in anti-discrimination policies.
In addition to accepting the terms of the letter, the university also announced it would install 36 security officers with the authority to arrest students.
US Secretary of Education Linda McMahon told CNN she applauds the university’s efforts in changing its policies to accord with the demands from the White House:
“I believe that they are on the right track so that we can now move forward,” McMahon said.
