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Columbia University agrees to ban masks on campus after $400M funding freeze by Donald Trump
The move has drawn attention and debate within academic circles regarding the balance between government influence and academic freedom.
Columbia University has agreed to implement a mask ban and expand campus police powers following demands from the Trump administration, which had frozen $400 million in federal funding to the institution.
“Freedom of expression is what enables the rigorous debate and free inquiry on which our academic mission depends,” Columbia said.
“But demonstrations and other protest activities that occur inside academic buildings and places where academic activities take place present a direct impediment to maintaining our core academic mission,” it added.
The move has drawn attention and debate within academic circles regarding the balance between government influence and academic freedom.
In her letter, interim president Katrina Armstrong said that the university would immediately appoint a senior vice provost to conduct a thorough review of its regional studies programs, “starting immediately with the Middle East.”
The university added that it will revamp its long-standing disciplinary process and bar protests inside academic buildings.
“Students will not be permitted to wear face masks on campus for the purposes of concealing one’s identity. An exception would be made for people wearing them for health reasons,” the university said.
Columbia University seeks to reinstate funding
The university is taking steps to reinstate its federal funding after the White House ordered cuts earlier this month, citing antisemitism complaints from Jewish students.
President Donald Trump's demands followed a series of pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia’s New York City campus, which have escalated since the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel.
To implement these changes, a 36-member internal security force will be authorised to remove or arrest individuals from campus. The mask ban will include exceptions for religious and health reasons, but anyone participating in protests while wearing a mask will be required to present their university identification when asked.
To foster “intellectual diversity,” the university will appoint new faculty to its Institute for Israel and Jewish Studies, adopt a new definition of antisemitism, and enhance programming at its Tel Aviv Center, a research hub in Israel.
The White House has labeled the student-led protests antisemitic, though this characterisation has been rejected by many participants in the demonstrations.
The White House has called the student-led protests as antisemitic, a claim that has been rejected by many of those involved in the demonstrations.
With Bloomberg, AP inputs
