Columbia Kowtows To Trump's Demands For $400M In Federal Funds

MORNINGSIDE HEIGHTS, NY — Less than two weeks after the Trump administration pulled more than $400,000,000 in federal funding from Columbia University — citing "illegal protests" — the school has agreed to many of the president's demands to restore funding.

Columbia's interim President, Katrina Armstrong, said she is banning masks on campus with specific health and religious exemptions, in addition to training 36 campus-based police officers with the authority to make arrests.

She also said she would appoint a new senior school head to conduct a review of the Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African studies department.

On March 7, the Trump Administration pulled more than $400 million in federal contracts and grants from Columbia University due to what it calls the school's "continued inaction in the face of persistent harassment of Jewish students," amid recent pro-Palestinian protests.

Shortly after, federal officials sent Columbia a list of demands that, if met, would release the funds.

"All Federal Funding will STOP for any College, School, or University that allows illegal protests," Trump wrote on Truth Social at the time. "Agitators will be imprisoned/or permanently sent back to the country from which they came. American students will be permanently expelled or, depending on on the crime, arrested. NO MASKS! Thank you for your attention to this matter."

This Friday, Columbia published a document outlining all the changes that would be made, including improving a "commitment to greater institutional neutrality" and expanding programming at the school's Tel Aviv campus. See the full document here.

"The way Columbia and Columbians have been portrayed is hard to reckon with," Armstrong said in a Friday statement. "We have challenges, yes, but they do not define us. 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."

This is a developing story and may be updated. For questions and tips, email Miranda.Levingston@Patch.com.