In recent months, Columbia University has been frequently featured in news headlines as tensions between pro-Palestinian protesters and the Trump administration have reached a breaking point. On March 7, the Trump administration enacted an immediate cancellation of $400 million in federal funding for the university due to the university’s “continued inaction in the face of persistent harassment of Jewish students.”

“Universities must comply with all federal antidiscrimination laws if they are going to receive federal funding,” Secretary of Education Linda McMahon wrote in the news release announcing the cut. “For too long, Columbia has abandoned that obligation to Jewish students studying on its campus. Today, we demonstrate to Columbia and other universities that we will not tolerate their appalling inaction any longer.”

The Trump administration has condemned Columbia University for its lack of control over antisemitism cases on campus – specifically the pro-Palestinian protests that take place on campus. As a university with heavy student involvement, these protests first gained attention in late 2023 after the Oct. 7 Hamas attack and Israel’s military response in Gaza. What started as small student gatherings quickly grew into organized tent encampments by early 2024. Student activists, led by groups like Students for Justice in Palestine and Jewish Voice for Peace, demanded that Columbia stop investing in companies with ties to Israel. Since then, protests have continued and now span over a range of issues.

The Trump administration outlined a series of policy changes they sought within the university in order to restore the “continued financial relationship” with the federal government in a letter addressed to previous interim University President Katrina Armstrong. Demands include the abolition of the University Judicial Board, the implementation of a mask ban, and the granting of “full law enforcement authority, including arrest and removal of agitators” to public safety officers.

In an interview with Eastside, Columbia’s Class of 2028 President Emerson Ellenwood said, “Columbia chose to capitulate to a mask ban and to the dissolution of the University Judicial Board, among others.” 

The university’s compliance with these demands has affected campus life, research and student sentiment.

“The first thing that comes to mind is the funding cuts that have crippled labs. I have friends who are struggling to find research opportunities anywhere. Trump’s attacks on both science and academic freedom are devastating. The attacks on student rights have left campus unsettled, even as our gates continue to be locked,” Ellenwood explained.

“There is no question that the cancellation of these funds will immediately impact research and other critical functions of the University, impacting students, faculty, staff, research and patient care,” said former interim President Armstrong before she stepped down from office.

The new security measures have dramatically altered campus operations. 

“Now we’ll have 36 officers on campus with arresting power, a mask ban and fewer gates open than any time this year,” said Ellenwood, noting that these changes directly contradict student preferences. “A significant majority of students want cops off campus, open gates and the freedom to wear a mask.”

At Columbia’s private female college, Barnard College student Samantha Lee expressed her experience with the New York Police Department (NYPD) and the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on campus to Eastside. 

“I love Barnard and I love Columbia when it feels safe. But when we heard that the NYPD was on campus, it did not feel safe. When we heard that ICE might have been let onto campus, it did not feel safe,” said Lee. 

Student leaders have found themselves in new situations.

“Lots of emergency meetings, especially with administrators. And getting trained to protect my peers from ICE. It’s not what most people think of when imagining a student council, doing your best to provide quasi-legal advice to try to make sure the person sitting next to you isn’t illegally detained and forced to sleep on a cold cell floor in Louisiana like Mahmoud,” Ellenwood said to describe his role as class president.

In the Manhattan neighborhood of Morningside Heights, Columbia’s campus has been overturned by protests. “Free Mahmoud Khalil” signs flooded the streets of New York as Columbia alumni ripped their diplomas in protest of the arrest and potential deportation of Columbia graduate student and Palestinian protest leader, Mahmoud Khalil. In a related case, Yunseo Chung, a permanent U.S. resident, fought against her deportation after being arrested for participating in a pro-Palestinian protest.

Despite the challenges, many students remain committed to the institution. “I love this school. I’ve met so many amazing people and learned so much here. I wish things were better, and we’re working to improve,” Ellenwood said. However, he stressed his concern. “I want Columbia to keep my peers safe. Thus far they’ve failed.”

The ongoing crisis represents a fundamental clash between federal authority and institutional power in higher education. The administration faces the difficult task of balancing compliance with federal demands against protecting student rights and maintaining academic freedom. As one of the first educational institutions to navigate these direct issues with the new federal government, Columbia University is setting the precedent for how higher educational institutions either comply or stand against the orders of the federal government – while the rest of the country watches.

Financial Aid

On March 17, President Trump signed an executive order dismantling the Department of Education. Though full Congressional approval is necessary for the 46-year-old agency to be completely abolished, Trump’s order could have major implications for schools and students nationwide. The Department of Education oversees financial aid distribution, student loans, and civil rights laws, and its Federal Student Aid office distributes nearly $120.8 billion in funds each year to students and families. 

President Trump stated during his signing that forms of aid such as federal Pell Grants, Title I funding, and funding for children with disabilities would remain preserved. However, if the Department of Education were to be dismantled or shrunk, responsibilities such as distributing aid and processing forms would fall to other departments and federal agencies. In 2017, Trump and his administration discussed moving tasks such as handling student loan portfolios to the Treasury Department or Commerce Department. 

Already, half of the Department of Education staff has been dismissed, leaving many with doubts regarding its ability to process forms and provide information to millions of borrowers, potentially leading to defaults. Transferring its duties to other federal agencies would cause a similar overstretch. The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), for example, could face disruptions and take far longer in its processes. 

In addition, Trump’s new budget cuts remove nearly $2 billion in “reserve” funding from the Pell Grant program and campus-based aid programs such as the Federal Work-Study Program that helps students find jobs. Critics worry that students will need to resort to private lenders that charge higher rates and have fewer protections than federal loans. 

Funding

Under Trump, multiple forms of revenue such as grants and federal funding have been cut from colleges and universities. Federal funding makes up one-fourth of total revenues for colleges and universities. 

Cuts in funding regarding research, for example, have led to university labs being shut down. The National Institute of Health, which previously covered costs related to facilities and administrations, announced it would dramatically cut funding for biomedical research. Emory University leaders told students this would translate to a $140 million decrease. 

Trump has also launched investigations into 60 institutions for antisemitic discrimination, threatening to withhold funding if they do not comply with certain demands. Columbia University agreed to hire campus security officers with the ability to arrest students, as well as other things, in exchange for $400 million in federal funding that was stripped due to “inaction in the face of harassment of Jewish students.” Similarly, Trump restricted $175 million in funding to the University of Pennsylvania for supporting transgender student-athletes and released a memo giving universities two weeks to comply with his recent Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) policies. 

(Gina Park)

On Jan. 21, President Donald Trump signed an executive order “ending illegal discrimination and restoring merit-based opportunity.” The order banned “illegal” diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) from existing in prominent institutions in American society. 

Trump asserted that DEI violates the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibited employment discrimination based on gender, race, religion and other means of identity. He also highlighted that this policy undermines the ideas of hard work and true achievement. Trump ordered all executive departments and agencies to remove all discriminatory and DEI preferences. This executive order has been widely disputed throughout the United States, with many raising the question: what does the removal of DEI truly mean for American society? 

Supporters of DEI feel that it doesn’t discredit qualified people, but instead ensures U.S. workplaces support diversity and give underrepresented people opportunities that may otherwise be limited. 

Many companies are scrambling to remove their DEI-related policies in order to avoid the federal consequences they greatly fear. These companies include Amazon, Google, Walmart, and Target, which has received a particularly large amount of backlash. On Jan. 24, three days after Trump signed the executive order, Target announced the termination of its Racial Equity Action and Change (REACH) initiative, which was created in 2020 to address racial discrimination within the Black community. Amazon also rolled back on DEI initiatives, removing mentions of diversity and inclusion from their 2024 annual report, as well as removing DEI language from their site. 

There are people in the United States who feel betrayed and furious at these companies’ efforts to appease Trump. This vehement anger was expressed by numerous activists in early February, who began to boycott Target. These activists consisted of various groups: some who started on Black History Month and some who started during Lent. The criticism faced by companies like Target highlights the larger controversy and confusion over Trump’s determination to remove three words: diversity, equity and inclusion. 

There are still a number of companies, however, who have refused to accommodate Trump’s order. Apple has refused to remove DEI from their company, claiming that this would hinder their ability to continue to stimulate an open and successful environment. 

The Trump administration’s persistence in removing diversity, equity and inclusion from U.S. companies is threatening the future of American society. Hopefully, fair companies continue to keep DEI and not conciliate with the federal government’s requests. 

(Elias Kang)

Leading up to the election, a big campaign promise by President Donald Trump was to punish individuals and universities that were not only endorsing terrorism, but creating an unsafe and unproductive space for their fellow peers. Through the deportation of visa-holding students and individuals who essentially abused their privileges, as well as massive cuts to universities allowing this misconduct, the Trump administration hopes to restore order to campuses nationwide. 

One individual arrested by ICE earlier this month is Mahmoud Khalil, a student at Columbia who is in the United States on a green card. Since being welcomed into a prestigious university such as Columbia, Mahmoud Khalil has “helped lead the pro-terror student group, Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD),” according to media watchdog HonestReporting. The CUAD Instagram page’s “about us” post reads the following: “We are Westerners fighting for the total eradication of Western civilization.” 

In order for an individual to obtain and keep a green card, they cannot engage in terrorist activities, support terrorist organizations (even indirectly), provide material support to terrorist groups, or plan, conspire, or commit an act of terrorism.

If said green card holder is a member of, or supports, an organization designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization by the United States, they are subject to immediate removal from the country. 

Now with all of that being said, here is every time that Mahmoud Khalil has supported terrorism. 

1. Khalil is quoted from a CUAD event saying, “We’ve tried armed resistance, Israel calls it terrorism.” The “armed resistance” he is referring to is the attacks on Israel perpetrated on Oct. 7th, resulting in over 1,400 deaths and hundreds of hostages taken, including 21-year old local New Jerseyan Edan Alexander who is still being held in captivity.
2. Khalil has led building takeovers at Columbia, leading to an investigation by the Justice Department.
3. Finally, he has distributed Hamas propaganda materials on campus. No, this does not mean he distributed propaganda in support of Hamas, it means he distributed official Hamas material, designated for distribution amongst those living under Hamas rule. The pamphlet reads: “Our Narrative … Operation Al-Aqsa Flood. Hamas Media Office.”

Currently, Mahmoud Khalil is being held in an ICE Detention Center in Louisiana, pending a transfer to New Jersey where his case will be reviewed before a Judge. A final decision regarding his status likely won’t be made until mid-April. 

Khalil is not alone in his situation, with many other individuals either currently in detainment, or already deported. 

Cornell student Momodou Taal has faced threats of deportation following an arrest by ICE. Taal was previously suspended from the university and has “repeatedly advocated for ‘armed resistance’ and praised the Hamas attacks,” according to the Zionist group Betar. 

Columbia student Leqaa Kordia is facing deportation to Judea and Samaria after being apprehended for immigration violations.

Dr. Rasha Alawieh, an assistant professor at Brown, has been deported to Lebanon after a discovery by Homeland Security showing him at the funeral of Hezbollah leader, Hassan Nasrallah, who is responsible for the deaths of over 400 Americans and thousands of Lebanese, as well as the deaths and displacements of thousands of Israelis.

With the crackdown on more individuals nationwide, the Trump Administration hopes to remove anyone looking to act in the disinterest of the United States and its allies.