NEW YORK: Columbia University, targeted by Donald Trump over student protests and alleged anti-Semitism from some demonstrators, unveiled a package of policies on Friday in a bid to placate the president.

Trump has targeted US universities that saw significant surges of protests against Israel’s conflict in Gaza. The administration had demanded that the university deploys external oversight, but the school stopped short of that with its raft of measures, instead vowing to engage with outside academics on the issue. Columbia’s student movement has been at the forefront of protests that have exposed deep rifts over the conflict.

Activists call them a show of support for the Palestinian people, while Trump condemns them as anti-Semitic, and says they must end.

The president has cut $400 million in federal funding for Columbia — including research grants and other contracts — on the grounds that the institution has not adequately protected Jewish students from harassment.

Columbia announced on Friday “improvements to our disciplinary processes” as well as making it mandatory that protesters identify themselves when challenged — even if they wear masks, as many did during the height of the pro-Palestinian protests.

It also announced the expansion of its security team, including the hiring of 36 officers empowered to remove or arrest those that break the prestigious Ivy League university’s rules.

‘Combat discrimination’

In the document titled “Advancing our work to combat discrimination, harassment and anti-Semitism at Columbia,” the university announced the creation of a new “Office of Institutional Equity” as well as updating its anti-discrimination and discriminatory harassment policy for students and groups.

“The University’s approach and relevant policies will incorporate the definition of antisemitism recommended by Columbia’s Antisemitism Taskforce in August 2024,” the policy document said.

As well as budget cuts to Columbia’s federal funds, with more threatened, immigration officers have targeted a leader of the pro-Palestinan protests, Mahmoud Khalil. Khalil, a US permanent resident with Palestinian roots and a graduate student at Columbia, was arrested by officers and has been held in Louisiana as he and his supporters fight his deportation on foreign policy grounds.

Columbia’s interim president, Katrina Armstrong, previously acknowledged the “critical moment for higher education” in a recent statement.

Last week, the private university announced a battery of disciplinary measures — including suspensions, temporary degree revocations and expulsions — aimed at student protesters who occupied a campus building last year.

Published in Dawn, March 23rd, 2025