Trump Drops the Hammer on Columbia University

_WHAT’S HAPPENING_

After the Trump administration canceled $400 million in federal funding to Columbia University, the president delivered a list of nine sweeping demands for the school to comply with in exchange for restored funding. The demand for accountability from Columbia University comes amid the second year of campus unrest spurred by their massive pro-Palestine demonstrations.

These requests include placing Columbia’s Department of Middle East, South Asian, and African Studies under "academic receivership," banning masks to prevent anonymous protests, and granting university leaders greater power over student discipline. All of the Trump administration’s demands are oriented toward fighting antisemitism on campus.

_THE FACTS_

• Columbia University has been a major recipient of federal funding, receiving nearly $2.5 billion in grants in 2024.

• While some “legal experts” believe that the Trump administration’s move is unconstitutional, a letter published by Columbia’s interim president did not address any legal problems or imply the school would resist Trump’s demands.

• The Trump administration delivered a list of nine sweeping demands for Columbia to comply with in exchange for the restoration of funding. These demands include:

  1. Banning the use of masks to conceal identity during protests.

  2. Giving the university president, rather than faculty, disciplinary power over students.

  3. Empowering campus law enforcement to arrest students who disrupt campus activities or foster an unsafe environment.

  4. Placing Columbia’s Department of Middle East, South Asian, and African Studies under academic receivership for five years.

  5. Adopting a stricter definition of antisemitism and implementing this across campus policies.

  6. Removing faculty members involved in promoting antisemitism.

  7. Implementing more rigorous vetting and discipline for student groups organizing protests related to sensitive political issues.

  8. Creating a clear framework for addressing antisemitism complaints, including expedited processes for student grievances.

  9. Requiring that the university provide regular updates to the federal government about the implementation of these changes.

• Though most of Columbia’s faculty have criticized the administration’s handling of the protests, others — a small minority — support measures to address antisemitism on campus.

• The university has until March 20 to comply with the demands or risk further cuts to its funding.

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