Columbia’s interim presidentprivately assured faculty there was no mask ban in place after telling the Trump administration that the university would implement one, a report said — as Jewish students slammed the newly announced regulations as “a complete fraud” Tuesday.
Katrina Armstrong, the interim head of the embattled university, downplayed aslew of Trump-ordered policy changesduring a tense meeting with faculty over the weekend — soon afterColumbia caved and agreed to enforce themon Friday, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Despite telling Trump officialsthat wearing masks during future campus protests would be curtailed, Armstrong assured staffersthere was no ban in place, according to a transcript of the meeting obtained by the outlet.
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Therevelationcomes after dozens of masked protestersflooded the Morningside Heights campus on Mondayin defiance of the school’snewly announcedrestrictions on face coverings.
In a statement to The Post, a university spokesperson clarified the new rules on masks are not in fact an outright ban, but impose stiff new requirements intended to strip rulebreakers of their anonymity.
“Individuals participating in demonstrations, including those who wear face masks or face coverings, must present their university ID when asked by a university official. Face coverings used to conceal one’s identity while violating university rules, policies or the law are not allowed on campus,” the spokesperson said.
Those who refuse to identify themselves are now subject to being trespassed from campus or other disciplinary measures.
The flurry of new campus reforms also included deputizing dozens of campus security officers, who are now empowered to arrest students who refuse to comply.
“Interim President Armstrong has been clear that she wants to constructively engage with our regulators. She is fully committed to the actions announced on Friday to combat antisemitism and all forms of discrimination which have no place in our community,” the spokesperson said, reemphasizing the school’s pledge to adhere to the new guidelines.
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But some members of the Columbia community said the regulations governing masks don’t go far enough.
“President Armstrong’s announcement is a complete fraud. It’s an effort to appease the Trump administration without implementing any substantive changes,” Matthew Schweber, a member of the Columbia University Jewish Alumni Association told The Post.
“She’s speaking out of both sides of her mouth — telling the public there’s a mask ban and telling the faculty there isn’t. That deceit should make her subject to removal.”
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Elisha Baker, 22, a Columbia junior, also accused the university of doubletalk.
“It is certainly concerning to see that Columbia is sending different messages to faculty and to the public. Personally, I am focused on actions, not words. We must keep our focus on the effective implementation of crucial policy changes that could restore Columbia to its primary mission of teaching, learning, and research.”
Columbia PhD student Alon Levin said the school was more focused on playing “PR games” than enacting meaningful reforms.
“Admin needs to stop pretending to be slick and thinking they can outwit everyone – government, faculty, and students. We’re on the precipice of losing hundreds of millions of dollars due to the administration’s refusal to uphold federal anti-discrimination policy, but instead of taking meaningful action to finally address these issues, the administration prefers to play PR games.”
NYC Jewish leaders, like Rabbi Joseph Potasnik, executive vice president of the New York Board of Rabbis, also hit out at the elite school for its soft stance on mask wearing.
“Columbia should demand ‘no masks,'” he said.
“Why do you have to hide your identity? For what purpose? I don’t rememberdemonstrators wearing masks — except for the Ku Klux Klan.”
The Trump admin called for a total ban on masks at campus protests as part of a sweeping list of reforms aimed at cracking down on antisemitism in higher ed.
The Ivy League school, which was given a month to comply orrisk losing around $400 million in federal funding, waited until the Friday deadline to inform the White House that it would agree to enforce the changes.
During the weekend talks, professors dramatically ripped the Ivy League school’s deal with the White House as the “biggest crisis since the founding of the republic,” the Journal reported.
Faculty rippedColumbia’s board of trusteesfor not rejecting suggestions that the school was a hotbed ofantisemitism.
Armstrong responded that she “could not agree more”that the school was being portrayed in an unfair light, the report said.
“This impossible situation that we’ve been put through, I think has tested us all and certainly tested me in ways that I have never anticipated being tested,”she said at one point.
