‘Extortion’: Columbia University’s deal with White House met with mixed reactions

Some slammed the agreement with the Trump administration to reinstate $400m in federal funds while others praised it as an excellent outcome'

Columbia University's long anticipated deal with the Trump administration after months of negotiations has drawn both condemnation and praise from faculty, students, and alumni - a sign that the end of negotiations will hardly restore harmony on a campus profoundly divided since the beginning of Israel's war in Gaza.

The deal will reinstate $400m in federal funds the administration cut from the university after it accused it of allowing antisemitism to fester on campus. But it will cost Columbia some $220m in legal settlements, as well as a host of new measures that critics warn significantly restrict the university's independence and will further repress pro-Palestinian speech.