Cost-reducing measures and DEI erasure in American universities amid federal funding uncertainties

Columbia University abides by President Trump’s demands in negotiations to restore $400 M in federal funding in a 4-page document titled 'Advancing Our Work to Combat Discrimination, Harassment, and Antisemitism at Columbia' published on 21/03/2025.

"All of these steps have been underway and are intended to further Columbia’s basic mission: to provide a safe and thriving environment for research and education, while preserving our commitment to academic freedom and institutional integrity", says the university.

The Trump administration had given the institution a few days to agree to nine demands it made on 13/03/2025, after cancelling grants and contracts over allegations of antisemitism on the New York City campus, mainly after the student protests over the Israeli-Palestinian war in 2024.

The nine demands mainly aimed to enforce existing disciplinary policies and rules to prevent "disruption of teaching", but it also asks that the university "formalises, adopts, and promulgates a definition of antisemitism".

In addition, the demands include a plan for comprehensive admissions…