Columbia ready to work with Trump to bolster disciplinary process that was 'only on paper'

Columbia University appears to beryllium acceptable and consenting to enactment with President Donald Trump and his administration. The university’s interim president. Katrina Armstrong, issued a missive connected Friday successful effect to the Trump medication cutting $400 cardinal successful national grants to the school. Federal agencies that severed their ties with Columbia said it was due to the fact that of the Ivy League institution’s "continued inaction successful the look of persistent harassment of Jewish students."

Armstrong says successful her missive that the backing cuts volition "immediately interaction probe and different captious functions," but she does not disregard the Trump administration’s claims. Rather, Armstrong writes that the assemblage takes the cuts "very seriously" and is prepared to enactment with the authorities connected its "legitimate concerns."

Student protesters march astir their encampment connected the Columbia University campus, Monday, April 29, 2024, successful New York.  (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah)

TRUMP CUTS MORE THAN $400 MILLION IN GRANTS TO COLUMBIA OVER ANTISEMITISM CONCERNS, POTENTIALLY MORE TO COME

"When I accepted the relation of Interim President successful August 2024, I knew Columbia needed a reset from the erstwhile twelvemonth and the chaos of encampments and protests connected our campus," Armstrong wrote. "The University besides needed to admit and repair the harm to our Jewish students, who were targeted, harassed, and made to consciousness unsafe oregon unwelcome connected our field past spring."

In a telling information of her letter, Armstrong admits that Columbia University’s disciplinary process "previously lone existed connected paper," seemingly taking a jab astatine erstwhile Columbia President Minouche Shafik.

In August 2024, Shafik resigned aft the assemblage was rocked by months of anti-Israel protests, including a ample encampment astatine the halfway of its field and the takeover of a building.

A pro-Palestine rally is held astatine the steps of Lowe Library connected the grounds of Columbia University connected April 22, 2024, successful New York City. (David Dee Delgado/Getty Images)

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On Friday, the Trump medication announced it would rescind astir $400 cardinal successful national grants to Columbia implicit the school’s handling of antisemitism.

The White House aboriginal posted a tweet with the operation "Shalom Columbia," apt a motion to a connection Trump sent to Hamas earlier successful the week.

The money slashing came conscionable a fewer days aft the Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS), Justice (DOJ), Education (DoE) and the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) announced the initiation of a "comprehensive review" of national grants to Columbia. The agencies cited the precocious formed Joint Task Force to Combat Antisemitism’s probe into whether Columbia violated the Civil Rights Act with its inaction connected the harassment of Jewish students. 

"For excessively long, Columbia has abandoned that work to Jewish students studying connected its campus," Secretary of Education Linda McMahon wrote successful a statement. "Today, we show to Columbia and different universities that we volition not tolerate their appalling inaction immoderate longer."

Members of an anti-Israel mob broke into Hamilton Hall astatine Columbia University connected April 30, 2024.  (Alex Kent/Getty Images)

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Columbia University has experienced renewed anti-Israel enactment successful the past fewer weeks. In January, students barged into an Israeli past people and distributed flyers with antisemitic and hateful rhetoric.

The students were aboriginal expelled, sparking protests astatine Columbia’s sister school, Barnard. Multiple protesters were arrested aft they took implicit the Barnard College room successful protestation of the expulsions.