 Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy is touting Columbia University bowing to the Trump administration's threats by agreeing to restrict protests, ban masks and turn their campus into a safe space for Jewish students.
"Instead of inspiring universal condemnation, the October 7 holocaust triggered a global wave of anti-Semitism," Kennedy said in a statement Monday on X. "Ivy league campuses became a greenhouse for poison. President Trump has ordered his cabinet to use every constitutional tool to uproot this divisive weed. I’m glad Columbia has agreed to this first step and will begin to restore itself as a garden of tolerance, reason, compassion, and respect."
From HHS.gov, "HHS, ED, and GSA Respond to Columbia University's Actions to Comply with Joint Task Force Pre-Conditions"
WASHINGTON — Today, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Department of Education (ED), and the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) welcomed the statement by Columbia University outlining actions the university is taking in response to the Joint Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism's March 13th letter detailing 9 preconditions for formal negotiations to restore canceled federal grants and contracts. Columbia's announcement is a positive first step in the university maintaining a financial relationship with the United States government.
"Columbia is demonstrating appropriate cooperation with the Trump Administration's requirements, and we look forward to a lasting resolution," said Secretary of Education Linda McMahon. "I have been in communication with Columbia University Interim President Katrina Armstrong over the last few weeks and appreciate her leadership and commitment to advance truly meaningful reforms on campus."
The actions that Columbia have announced will have an immediate effect on combating anti-Semitism, holding those responsible for the harassment of Jewish students accountable, and reorienting Columbia to its academic mission. Columbia has committed to:
- Reviewing admissions procedures to ensure an unbiased admissions process and specifically studying the decline in admissions of Jewish students.
- Clarifying time, place, and manner restrictions to clearly state that protests in academic buildings, and other places necessary for the conduct of university activities, are unacceptable.
- Enforcing a strict anti-masking policy that includes appropriate enforcement mechanisms for violations, including removal from campus or detention for trespassing.
- Adhering to all student visa and immigration laws in cooperation with the Department of Homeland Security.
- Reviewing the portfolio of regional studies programs, starting immediately with those that teach about the Middle East and Israel.
- Enforcing existing disciplinary policies and completing disciplinary proceedings, with meaningful consequences, for Hamilton Hall and encampments.
- Placing the University Judicial Board (UJB) under the Office of the Provost and limiting panel membership to faculty and administrators only.
- Expanding the number of Columbia security personnel and granting them the ability to arrest and remove agitators who foster an unsafe or hostile work or study environment, or otherwise interfere with classroom instruction or the functioning of the university.
- Advance Columbia's Tel Aviv Center. Programming for the Columbia Tel Aviv Global Hub will launch in Q2 2025.
"Instead of inspiring universal condemnation, the October 7 holocaust triggered a global wave of anti-Semitism. Ivy league campuses became a greenhouse for poison," said HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. "President Trump has ordered his cabinet to use every constitutional tool to uproot this divisive weed. I'm glad Columbia has agreed to this first step and will begin to restore itself as a garden of tolerance, reason, compassion, and respect."
Columbia's compliance with the Task Force's preconditions is only the first step in rehabilitating its relationship with the government, and more importantly, its students and faculty. The decisive steps the Task Force has taken with Columbia have yielded positive results that should serve as a roadmap for universities with similar problems across the country.
"Columbia's early steps are a positive sign, but they must continue to show that they are serious in their resolve to end anti-Semitism and protect all students and faculty on their campus through permanent and structural reform," said FAS Commissioner and Task Force member, Josh Gruenbaum. "Other universities that are being investigated by the Task Force should expect the same level of scrutiny and swiftness of action if they don't act to protect their students and stop anti-Semitic behavior on campus." [InfoLib note: Josh Gruenbaum now "oversees procurement and contracting for the entire federal government" with the "quest to root out contracts with institutions that are not doing enough to counter antisemitism," according to Jewish Insider.]
The Task Force notified Columbia on March 3rd that their federal contracts and grants were under review in light of ongoing investigations for potential violations of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. The Task force then canceled approximately $400 million in federal grants and contracts to Columbia as a response to their continued failure to end the persistent harassment of Jewish students. "Kennedy just mandated that in order to get its funding restored Columbia will review admissions policies and study the 'decline in admissions of Jewish students.'" X user Mel noted in a viral tweet.
"Jewish students make up 23% of the current student body at Columbia. In previous years it's been 22.5% and 22.33%. Apparently 2% of the population comprising damn near 1/4th of a college's student body isn't enough?! I'm curious @SecKennedy what percentage of Columbia's student body should be Jewish, according to you? 40%? 75%? Can we get some clarification on this???"
As I reported earlier this month, the mask ban was pushed hard by the Anti-Defamation League.
Most of the demands on this list were pushed by the ADL -- who went from being Trump's biggest critic to his biggest fan after he pledged to arrest critics of Israel and have them deported and launched a crackdown on speech critical of Jews and Israel.
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