Columbia University has reportedly agreed to a series of sweeping changes the Trump administration demanded from the Ivy League university to restore $400 million in suspended federal funding.
The university will give police new powers to arrest students, ban face masks at protests, and appoint a university official to oversee changes at its department of Middle East, South Asian and African Studies and Center for Palestine Studies.
“We have worked hard to address the legitimate concerns raised both from within and without our Columbia community, including by our regulators, with respect to the discrimination, harassment, and antisemitic acts our Jewish community has faced in the wake of October 7, 2023,” the university said in a memo obtained by The Wall Street Journal.
The White House had accused the university of failing to stop on-campus antisemitism during large-scale pro-Palestine protests in 2023 and 2024, and demanded the university make the changes in a letter sent to campus officials last week.
This is a breaking news story and will be updated with new information.
