The Trump administration has delivered a rare ultimatum to Columbia College, threatening to completely finish federal funding to the college until it cedes management of a global research division and implements sweeping modifications to different campus insurance policies.
In a letter despatched Thursday evening, federal officers mentioned the college should instantly place its Center Japanese, South Asian, and African Research Division beneath “academic receivership for a minimum of five years.”
It should additionally ban masks on campus that should conceal the wearer’s id “or intimidate others,” undertake a brand new definition of antisemitism and abolish its present course of for administering self-discipline to college students.
The letter described these modifications and others as “preconditions” as a way to start “formal negotiations regarding Columbia University’s continued financial relationship with the United States government.”
“We expect your immediate compliance with these critical next steps,” officers from the Division of Schooling, Normal Providers Administration and Division of Well being and Human Providers wrote within the letter.
A New York decide is deciding what’s subsequent for Mahmoud Khalil, who helped manage pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia College in 2024. Protesters gathered outdoors federal courtroom demanding his launch. Khalil was taken to a detention heart in Louisiana and can keep there for now, although his attorneys need him returned to New York. NBC New York’s Erica Byfield reviews.
The letter marked a major escalation within the Trump administration’s efforts to impose in depth modifications on educational establishments. It comes as federal immigration officers have additionally focused particular pupil protesters, together with Mahmoud Khalil, a pro-Palestinian activist who was arrested over the weekend for his function in Columbia College demonstrations towards Israel.
“Columbia continues to make every effort to ensure that our campus, students, faculty, and staff are safe,” Armstrong mentioned in an announcement. “Columbia is committed to upholding the law, and we expect city, state, and federal agencies to do the same.”
The college didn’t instantly reply to a message searching for touch upon the Trump administration’s calls for.
