Columbia University is increasingly acting in accordance with the Trump administration’s wishes, but with little to show for it so far.
After a group of students stormed the school’s library and refused to leave last week, the president of the university called in the New York Police Department, leading to almost 80 arrests. More than 65 students have been suspended, and 33 people have been barred from campus over their participation.
While praise came quickly from the White House, hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding paused by the government was not restarted. Members of the Columbia community are denouncing the school’s actions, which also include giving in to the administration’s original demands for the funding but so far seeing nothing in return.
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“I think what happened was enormous overreaction by the university and by the New York City Police Department,” said Michael Thaddeus, professor of mathematics at Columbia and vice president of the Columbia chapter of the American Association of University Professors.
“This harsh and severe response by the university seems to be a response to pressure from the government,” he added.
The quick call to the NYPD and swift discipline for students mark a stark difference from how protests were handled last spring, when Columbia’s administration attempted to negotiate with students and only involved law enforcement as a last resort.
Those 2024 demonstrations infuriated Republicans, with pro-Palestinian activists from Columbia and multiple other schools specifically targeted in President Trump’s crackdown on international scholars.
Donna Lieberman, executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, said “it’s pretty clear that Columbia” gave in to the “Trump regime by bringing in the NYPD quickly, never engaging in negotiations with students, sweeping up everybody, including students who were studying at the library, and without a hearing or even asking any questions about their involvement.”
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A spokesperson for Columbia said the university has been “preparing for incidents like this” and the “actions were in line with the enhanced protocols we’ve put in place in recent months.”
“Our priority was to prevent further escalation, ensure safety, and allow the Columbia community to return to its academic mission with minimal disruption,” the spokesperson said.
The White House’s Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism released a statement saying acting school president Claire Shipman “met the moment with fortitude and conviction” and it “is confident that Columbia will take the appropriate disciplinary actions for those involved in this act.”
But despite openly agreeing nearly two months ago to the Trump administration’s demands — including hiring more campus police officers, banning masks and putting certain department in academic receivership — Columbia appears no closer to the restoration of some $400 million in federal funds.
That funding freeze has resulted in at least 180 job cuts so far, but perceived efforts to curry favor with Trump are producing fury among the student population.
“Columbia University is participating in the destruction of the democratic system,” student and Palestinian activist Mohsen Mahdawi, who was recently released from Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention, told the Associated Press. “They are supporting the initiatives and the agenda of the Trump administration, and they are punishing and torturing their students.”
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Mahdawi, like fellow Columbia demonstrator Mahmoud Khalil, is still being targeted for deportation by the Trump administration, which accuses their school of allowing antisemitism and them of supporting Hamas.
If there’s a school that has taken an opposite approach from Columbia, it’s fellow Ivy League member Harvard University, which is suing the Trump administration over its own funding freeze, which it calls illegal.
In response, Harvard has lost billions in funding and is under a Title VI investigation. Trump has also threatened to revoke the university’s tax-exempt status.
“Other schools should look” to Columbia’s response to last week’s protest as an example to follow, said Roni Brunn, a leading member of the Harvard Jewish Alumni Association.
“You can protect your campus. You can ensure equal rights for all your students, not just the ones who are bullying Jews. Everybody is equal. You can do it. It’s highly doable,” Brunn said.
