Columbia University’s interim president conceded that the feds have “legitimate concerns” in cutting hundreds off millions of dollars in funding over rampant antisemitism at the Ivy League school.
“Columbia is taking the government’s action very seriously,” Interim University President Katrina Armstrong said Friday. “Columbia can, and will, continue to take serious action toward combatting antisemitism on our campus.”
The school is working with the federal government to address its “legitimate concerns,” she added, hours after a federal antisemitism task force convened by President Trump axed roughly $400 million in grants and contracts from Columbia University, citing the school’s noncompliance with anti-discrimination laws.
Armstrong said the cancellation of funds “will immediately impact research and other critical functions of the University, impacting students, faculty, staff, research, and patient care.”
And that “will undoubtedly create anxiety and concern for our entire community,” she said.
“These impacts will touch nearly every corner of the University,” Armstrong added.
The feds said it’s been Jewish students and supporters of Israel who have felt the most anxiety — because of the hate they’ve experienced on campus.
“Since October 7, Jewish students have faced relentless violence, intimidation, and antisemitic harassment on their campuses — only to be ignored by those who are supposed to protect them,” Secretary of Education Linda McMahon said in a statement Friday.
“Universities must comply with all federal antidiscrimination laws if they are going to receive federal funding,” she added.
“Today, we demonstrate to Columbia and other universities that we will not tolerate their appalling inaction any longer.”
After Oct. 7, 2023, the Morningside Heights campus morphed into a pro-Palestine tent city and has been the center of anti-Israel demonstrations, often resulting in arrests by the NYPD.
Students who participated in a violent take-over of the historic Hamilton Hall last year were not expelled and many remain “in good standing,” a scathing House Republican report found.
