Schools must either take corrective action against anti-Semitism by the end of today or lose billions with federal aid.
Columbia University interim president Katrina Armstrong has worked with President Donald Trump and federal agencies to implement protections for Jewish students and demonstrated that by March 20th he is recovering funds from the U.S. Department of Education.
After the Department of Education’s Civil Rights Office withdrew $400 million in federal grants to Columbia earlier this month, Ivy League schools have determined that they have failed to properly deal with the lasting events of anti-Semitism following the protests and campus occupations that Jewish students were harassed.
Former Columbia University president Nemat “Minouche” Shafik resigned in August 2024 and resigned as president of the third Ivy League after months of criticism over handling protests against the war in Gaza.
On March 13, the federal agency sent a letter outlining nine “prerequisites” that Columbia University must meet to consider future federal grants. In the 2024-2025 grade, the school received approximately $5 billion.
The main ones of these conditions are to enforce mask bans, remove the university’s judicial committee, move student disciplinary procedures to the president’s office, ensure full law enforcement for Columbia security officers to remove agitators from campus, place specific academic programs on “recipients” to avoid monitoring anti-optics and avoid new intake processes.
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“Unsurprisingly, many inside and outside our community have asked and expressed concerns about how we respond, some have looked at their prior conditions and considered what is acceptable and what is unbearable.
“Let’s be clear about our progress. It is our greatest responsibility to maintain and deliver our academic mission at all times. We are committed to doing the right thing for Colombia and will not shake up the value of academic freedom and free expression that has guided this facility for the past 270 years.”
The statement also said it will launch a web page containing regular “updates on all progress” that Columbia University is making in these areas.
“We will continue our constructive dialogue with our federal regulators, as well as our responsibility, as we have done throughout our history, including anti-Semitism, harassment, discrimination, the tangible progress we are making, and the strength of our commitment to this ongoing work.
A Columbia University spokesperson said the school had no additional information or comment beyond Armstrong’s March 19 statement.
