Columbia University President, in a letter, informed that students will no longer be allowed to wear masks on campus to conceal their identity.
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In response to President Donald Trump’s order, Columbia University, on Friday (local time), agreed to impose a mask ban and increase the powers of campus police. This comes a month after the Trump administration pulled $400 million in research grants and other funding over the university’s handling of protests against Israel’s military campaign in Gaza.
According to a letter published Friday by interim President Katrina Armstrong, the university will also implement a revised definition of antisemitism and promote “intellectual diversity” by increasing staff at its Institute for Israel and Jewish Studies.
Armstrong, in her letter said, “the university had worked hard to “address the legitimate concerns raised both from within and without our Columbia community, including by our regulators, with respect to the discrimination, harassment, and antisemitic acts our Jewish community has faced,” reported AP.
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“The way Columbia and Columbians have been portrayed is hard to reckon with. We have challenges, yes, but they do not define us.”
Amstrong, mentioned in the letter that, the students will not be allowed to wear face masks on campus “for the purposes of concealing one’s identity,”, adding that an exception can be made in case of some health or religious reasons.
Some faculty members and free speech groups have also criticised the policy changes, accusing it of endangering academic freedom.
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“Columbia’s capitulation endangers academic freedom and campus expression nationwide,” Donna Lieberman, the executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, said in a statement, as quoted by AP.
The move to implement changes by the university comes amid the Trump administration constantly accusing it of not checking antisemitism at protest against Israel that started during last spring.
In recent weeks, the Trump administration has intensified its criticism of Columbia, throwing the campus into turmoil and raising concerns about potential further reprisals at universities nationwide.
On March 8, federal immigration authorities arrested Mahmoud Khalil, a well-known Palestinian activist and legal permanent resident, in his university-owned apartment building – described by Trump as the “first of many” deportation attempts.
