On March 28, 2025, Columbia University’s Interim President Katrina Armstrong officially resigned, returning to her former job as CEO of Columbia’s Irving Medical Center.
During her resignation, she expressed her pride in leading the university during an “important and challenging time,” but then explained that her passion was with science and healing. The former President took on her role in August after previous president Minouche Shafik resigned amid controversy surrounding her handling of student protestors and campus divisions from the Israel-Palestine conflict. As pro-Palestinian students protested earlier this year, they were carried away by police officers, who stormed the building in riot gear. This culmination led to many violent clashes with police and thousands of arrests. In the end, three students filed a lawsuit on February 3 for their suspensions related to their pro-Palestine activism on campus. The students claimed that the university had targeted students for their views, violating New York’s landlord-tenant laws when they were evicted from university housing.
Two weeks ago, things took a turn for the worse. President Donald Trump’s administration stripped Columbia University and its hospital of funding from $400 million in federal grants, under claims that the university had not done enough to punish students who participated in pro-Palestinian demonstrations, citing possible concerns of antisemitism on campus. While issuing the announcement, Secretary of Education Linda McMahon declared, “Universities must comply with all federal antidiscrimination laws if they are going to receive federal funding. 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.” To restore $400 million in federal funding, along with billions more in future grants, the university would have to immediately enact nine separate reforms to its academic and security policies.
Columbia complied instantly, and the university agreed to several demands in a 4,000-word message from Armstrong. The response indicated that Columbia would hire new public safety personnel with powers to arrest student protestors, appoint a new official to review departments that offer courses on the Middle East, and ban students from wearing face masks to “conceal” their identity. Armstrong claimed that these demands would reaffirm Columbia’s mission against discrimination and harassment while managing protests and preserving their value of free speech.
However, Columbia’s concessions to the Trump administration only fueled public and student-body outrage. After an attempt to gain government approval by expelling, suspending, and revoking the degrees of 22 students who participated in last year’s Hamilton Hall Protest, current and former students were appalled. Groups of graduates tore up their diplomas on campus over the weekend to protest the university’s cooperation with the administration, specifically over the arrests of Mahmoud Khalil. Many protestors chanted, “Free Palestine!” while tearing their papers. One former alumnus who participated, Amali Tower explained, “I’m not a proud alumni at all, and instead I want to stand with the students, and I want to stand with Palestinians, and I want to stand with immigrants who are being rounded up and harassed, oppressed, and deported as we speak.” When demonstrations first gained traction last Spring, Khalil became the face of pro-Palestinian supporters, serving as a spokesperson and negotiator for demonstrators who deplored Israel’s military campaign in Gaza. Khalil’s group pressed Columbia to cut financial ties with Israel and any companies who supported the war, unintentionally making him the target of Trump’s crackdowns. To mitigate his influence, federal immigration agents took Khalil, despite him being a legal U.S. resident. Currently, Khalil faces potential deportation for his views and has been forced into a federal detention complex.
As Armstrong transitions down from her position as Columbia’s interim president, the future for the university looks uncertain as they continue to find a replacement. Due to the controversies, Columbia has seen a drop in applicants this year, and has had some admits consider reenrolling. Columbia’s applicant trend can be seen in other elite colleges including Yale, Brown, and Dartmouth, which have all seen similar demonstrations by students. One student explained their reasoning for why they withdrew their application from Columbia, saying, “As someone who is pursuing a legal education for the protection of my community against violations of our civil rights and liberties, I do not wish to attend a school that does not protect their own.”
Written by Claire Liu
