Campus Watch April 9, 2025

Former Columbia President Katrina Armstrong Tells HHS She Doesn’t Remember Specific Antisemitic Incidents on Campus

Former Columbia University President Katrina Armstrong said in April 1 testimony to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that she doesn’t remember any specific antisemitic incidents that occurred on campus in the past year.

The Washington Free Beacon obtained a transcript of Armstrong’s testimony with HHS Acting General Counsel Sean Keveny; the university had announced on March 28 that Armstrong is resigning from her position as interim president and would be leading the Irving Medical Center. Armstrong said in the testimony that she had “no specific memory of hearing” students on campus call for the destruction of Israel. She also acknowledged having no “specific recollections” from what was in an August report by the Columbia Task Force on Antisemitism; when asked about specific incidents from Jewish students, Armstrong could not recall any. Instead, she said, “The most hurtful things I heard were about friends no longer being friends.” At this point, Keveny asked how she has “such a terrible memory of specific incidents of antisemitism when you’re clearly an intelligent doctor?”

When the Free Beacon reached out to the university for comment, a spokeswoman told the outlet: “This testimony does not reflect the hard work undertaken by the University to combat antisemitism, harassment, and discrimination and ensure the safety and wellbeing of our community.” The Free Beacon further noted that after it had reached out for comment on April 6, the university announced that Armstrong “has decided to take a sabbatical and spend time with her family.”

Anti-Israel Protesters Physically Removed from CU Boulder Class After Disrupting It

The University of Colorado Boulder announced on April 2 that it is investigating an incident in which anti-Israel protesters disrupted a class and were then physically thrown out of the class.

The Denver Post, which reviewed video of the incident, reported that two anti-Israel protesters entered the “Designing for Defense” class. One of the protesters was filming while the other, who was wearing a keffiyeh and holding papers, walked to the front of the class. The instructor for the class started shouting at the protesters to leave the class; the Post described a “struggle” that occurred between the instructor, one of the protesters and a class “mentor,” during which the protester wound up on the floor. The mentor is also purportedly seen in the video holding the keffiyeh outside the classroom and saying, “You want some too?” to one of the protesters; the mentor is also purportedly seen “outside the classroom door picking up one of the protesters by the keffiyeh and dragging them, flinging their body around,” per the Post.

“The CU Boulder Police Department is investigating an incident that occurred Wednesday, April 2, where a classroom was disrupted by unidentified individuals, one or more of whom were removed from the classroom after being told to leave repeatedly by the instructor,” the university said in a statement. “A second individual who appears to be removing individuals from the class in a video of the incident was not an employee or a student. CU Boulder condemns acts of violence and does not tolerate classroom disruptions, both of which violate state law and university policies.”

Education Dept. Reviewing Nearly $9 Billion in Federal Funding to Harvard

The Department of Education is reviewing nearly $9 billion in federal funding to Harvard University over the school’s handling of antisemitism.

The department announced in a March 31 press release that the review “includes the more than $8.7 billion in multi-year grant commitments to Harvard University and its affiliates” and “the more than $255.6 million in contracts between Harvard University, its affiliates and the Federal Government.” The Trump administration sent a letter to the university on April 3 highlighting a series of demands that the university must meet to retain the funding, including banning masks and excising its Diversity, Equity and Inclusion program, per CNN.

University President Alan Garber warned losing the federal funding would jeopardize critical research, reported CNN. He also declared that the university is committed to fighting antisemitism and has enhanced their policies to better address the matter.

UCSB Announces Committee to Address Antisemitism

UC Santa Barbara (UCSB) Chancellor Henry Yang and Executive Vice Chancellor David Marshall announced on March 18 that the university is forming a Chancellor’s Advisory Committee on Antisemitism.

“This committee will offer guidance and recommendations about how to ensure that there is a safe and inclusive environment on campus for Jewish- and Israeli-identifying students, faculty, staff, alumni, and visitors, and help us to understand experiences of anti-Jewish and anti-Israeli hostility,” Yang and Marshall said. “It will make recommendations about educational and training efforts to prevent antisemitism, drawing upon best practices and rigorous research and pedagogy.” The committee will also “review and make recommendations about campus codes of conduct and ‘time, place, and manner’ policies, and suggest ways to improve the reporting and transparency of disciplinary processes,” according to Yang and Marshall.