Overview
- Columbia University complied with the Trump administration's demands to ban masks, empower campus police to arrest students, and place its Middle East studies department under new oversight.
- The university adopted a new definition of antisemitism and revised its protest and disciplinary policies as part of the agreement.
- The Trump administration revoked $400 million in federal funding earlier this month, citing Columbia's alleged failure to protect Jewish students from harassment during pro-Palestinian protests.
- Faculty and civil rights groups criticized the measures, warning they set a dangerous precedent for government interference in academic freedom.
- Columbia's compliance is a precondition for negotiations to restore funding, but the administration has indicated further steps may be required.