Trump Administration’s crusade against higher education institutions continues, university responds.

Over the last several weeks, Columbia University has been the subject of controversy due to its receptiveness to Trump’s administration mandates. After the administration cut 400 million dollars from Columbia’s budget, Columbia began working towards implementing new policies that will supposedly reduce campus harassment and antisemitism.

Budget Cuts

On March 7, the Trump administration announced that it had cut $400 million from Columbia’s budget due to Columbia’s alleged failure to control campus antisemitism. Following the announcement, a Columbia spokesperson said the school was reviewing the announcement and pledged “to work with the federal government to restore Columbia’s federal funding,” in a statement to NPR.

For context, Columbia’s total operating budget for the 2024 fiscal year was $6.6 billion, and it received roughly $1.5 billion in public research grants. 

Protests and Antisemitism at Columbia

Columbia has been the home of many pro-Palestine protests over the last year. Students have organized peaceful and non-peaceful protests and encampments in support of Palestine, demanding Columbia divest from financial ties to Israel. For example, in March 2024, pro-Palestine protestors took over a building on Columbia’s campus, and Columbia president Minouche Shafik later requested for NYPD to clear them out of the building. Many protestors were taken into custody. 

Many Jewish students at Columbia have reported incidents of antisemitism related to such protests. The Anti Defamation League (ADL) gave Columbia a D on its Campus Antisemitism Report Card in 2025, citing concerns around “Campus Conduct and Climate.” The ADL’s website has a long list of alleged antisemitic incidents, ranging from dorm mezuzahs being taken down to students being shoved and screamed at by protestors.

Critics of both the Trump administration’s and the Columbia administration’s recent actions have claimed that justifying new campus policies with antisemitism is disingenuous and poses a threat to all students by suppressing speech.

Student Detainments

Following the budget cut, students at Columbia with legal residence have been detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or other law enforcement groups. The university took no action to discourage ICE from making such detainments, which were sometimes on Columbia property.

Mahmoud Khalil was a central figure in organizing pro-Palestine protests on the Columbia campus. Khalil is an Algerian citizen who is in the U.S. on a green card visa. He has often mediated negotiations between protest groups and the Columbia administration. On March 8, he was arrested by immigration agents on the grounds of being tied to a protest organization that was “un-American activity.” Khalil’s fate remains unclear, as he is still detained, but a federal judge recently ruled that he can be legally deported.

Similarly, Yunseo Chung, a Columbia student and legal resident of the U.S. since she was seven, has narrowly avoided being arrested and deported by the Trump administration. Chung has participated in various pro-Palestine demonstrations at Columbia, but has not yet been arrested and has actually filed a lawsuit against President Trump and other officials. The government’s rationale in deporting her is that “her presence in the United States hinders the administration’s foreign policy agenda of halting the spread of antisemitism.”

Policy Changes

Columbia has agreed to several new policies in an effort to gain back the $400 million of lost funding. Al Jazeera reported that “Face masks will be banned, protesters will be required to identify themselves, security officers with special powers to arrest students are to be appointed and departments offering courses on the Middle East are to be reviewed and overseen by a new senior provost.” Additionally, the Middle Eastern, South Asian and African Studies departments will be placed into “academic receivership” for five years, giving the university’s administration greater control over them.

In a memo to the Trump administration, Columbia administrators wrote “All of these steps have been underway and are intended to further Columbia’s basic mission: to provide a safe and thriving environment for research and education while preserving our commitment to academic freedom and institutional integrity.”

Meeting the Trump administration’s demands does not guarantee reinstated funding, though. It has been confirmed that enacting these new policies are only a prerequisite to enter normal negotiations.

New President

On March 28, the Columbia Board of Trustees announced that the Interim President Katrina A. Armstong would be replaced by Claire Shipman, co-chair of Columbia’s board of trustees. 

“‘Dr. Armstrong accepted the role of interim president at a time of great uncertainty for the University and worked tirelessly to promote the interests of our community,’ David J. Greenwald, chair of the board of trustees, said in a statement for Columbia’s Office of Public Affairs. ‘Katrina has always given her heart and soul to Columbia. We appreciate her service and look forward to her continued contributions to the University.” Three days before she was replaced, The New York Post reported that Dr. Armstrong had privately told Columbia faculty that she would not enact the mask-ban policy or many other policies ordered by the Trump administration, despite telling the Trump administration that the policy would be enacted.

Article by Zev Wacks