“The way Columbia and Columbians have been portrayed is hard to reckon with,” stated Katrina Armstrong, the university’s interim president.

By Vita Fellig, JNS

Columbia University will implement reforms, including a mask ban and increased oversight of its Middle Eastern studies department, to comply with the Trump administration’s demand to address Jew-hatred on campus or risk losing $400 million in federal funding.

Katrina Armstrong, Columbia’s interim president, stated that the university informed federal agencies of the university’s plan to tackle antisemitism on campus.

“Our response to the government agencies outlines the substantive work we’ve been doing over the last academic year to advance our mission, ensure uninterrupted academic activities and make every student, faculty and staff member safe and welcome on our campus,” she stated.

“We have much to be proud of as a community, and it has been a privilege to share our progress and plans,” she said.

Armstrong noted that the university expected students to “engage in robust debate and discussion about our way forward, and we welcome it as an opportunity to shape the future of Columbia.”

On March 13, the U.S. Department of Education, the General Services Administration and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services sent a letter to Columbia highlighting the government’s preconditions for discussion about renewed federal funding for the private school.

Columbia announced on Friday that it will appoint a new senior vice provost to review curricular offerings and hiring practices in its Middle East programs, including its Center for Palestine Studies, Institute for Israel and Jewish Studies, Middle East Institute, Tel Aviv and Amman hubs, Middle East policy major (in its School of International and Public Affairs) and its Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African studies program.

It also stated that it will hire 36 “special officers” with the authority to remove students from campus or arrest people when necessary to bolster campus security.

Among the other changes are requiring those who attend protests to identify themselves.

“All individuals who engage in protests or demonstrations, including those who wear face masks or face coverings, must, when asked, present their university identification to the satisfaction of a university delegate or public safety officer,” Columbia stated.  “Individuals who fail to comply with these policies will be subject to discipline, being escorted off campus and detention for trespass where appropriate.”

It also committed to have disciplinary cases heard by a panel that falls under the provost, who reports to the university president, and said that it will “review our admissions procedures to ensure they reflect best practices.”

“For example, we have identified a recent downturn in both Jewish and African American enrollment, and we will closely examine those issues,” Columbia said.

The university also said that it will “advance Columbia’s Tel Aviv center,” whose programming it said will launch in the second quarter of 2025.

“The way Columbia and Columbians have been portrayed is hard to reckon with. We have challenges, yes, but they do not define us,” Armstrong stated. “We are a community of scholars, who have deep respect for each other and our mission. We teach the brightest, most creative students in the world, and we care deeply for each and every one of them.”

“I have every faith in our ability to overcome the greatest of challenges. We stand resilient and brilliant,” she said.

“Promises made, promises kept,” wrote Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), Trump’s nominee for U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.