An investigation from the Trump administration’s Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) found Columbia University violated civil rights in its failure to address antisemitism on campus.
HHS said on Thursday Columbia “failed” to adhere to its own policies regarding responding to complaints from Jewish students and enforcing punishments on students engaging in vandalism and illegal and disruptive protests, according to an announcement from the department. Columbia previously caved to the administration’s demands for tackling discrimination on campus after the administration threatened hundreds of millions in federal funding.
“The findings carefully document the hostile environment Jewish students at Columbia University have had to endure for over 19 months, disrupting their education, safety, and well-being,” Anthony Archeval, acting director of the Office for Civil Rights at HHS, said in a statement. “We encourage Columbia University to work with us to come to an agreement that reflects meaningful changes that will truly protect Jewish students.”
The Notice of Violation sent to Columbia was issued in conjunction with the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights.
The university also allegedly failed “To establish effective reporting and remediation mechanisms for antisemitism until the summer of 2024,” HHS said.
“We understand this finding is part of our ongoing discussions with the government,” a Columbia spokesman told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “Columbia is deeply committed to combatting antisemitism and all forms of harassment and discrimination on our campus. We take these issues seriously and will work with the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Education to address them.”
Columbia has faced heat from the administration ever since it became the hotspot for antisemitic protests since the start of the Gaza War in 2023. The university reportedly failed to enforce meaningful punishment on over 100 students involved in pro-Hamas demonstrations, from unauthorized encampments to the overtaking of a campus building during which a university employee was reportedly held hostage.
The Ivy League school agreed in March to several demands from the administration in an effort to earn back the $400 million revoked from it the previous month. The demands included banning masks on campus, hiring additional campus police officers, bolstering its disciplinary office staff and enforcing the protest rules Columbia already has on the books. The university did not address the request for it to adjust its international student admission policy to better vet incoming foreign students.
Despite its “record of failures,” the Department of Education recently stated it “is encouraged” by Columbia’s response to recent antisemitic protests on campus.
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