Yesterday I described some of the changes that Columbia University had agreed to make in an attempt to get the Trump administration to restore $400 million in federal funding which was pulled from the school a couple weeks ago. I highlighted one change in particular as a problem for pro-Hamas protesters.

The no masks rule could be especially problematic to the pro-Hamas extremists who have been running amok on campus. Like Antifa, CUAD (the coalition of groups organizing the protests) has used face covering to avoid accountability for actions which violate school rules or break the law. If students had to protest without the masks they might be less likely to take extreme actions that could result in suspension or expulsion.

The mask ban sounded good but by yesterday afternoon it was being put to the test. CUAD had announced a walkout Monday and specifically encouraged people to "mask up." A group of protesters did gather and many were wearing masks, but it seemed the school was not enforcing the ban.

Welcome back from spring break @Columbia. Despite erroneous reports of a “mask ban” and “capitulation”, protests (with masks!) are continuing, an unapproved banner is hanging off of Dodge Hall, and no protestors have been asked to identify themselves. Capitulation in name only. pic.twitter.com/aIhZKt2ufX

— Columbia Jewish & Israeli Students ✡️🇮🇱 (@CUJewsIsraelis) March 24, 2025

Just a few hours later, the Wall Street Journal reported an explanation for the lack of enforcement. In meetings with faculty held over the weekend, interim president Katrina Armstrong said that despite agreeing to the mask ban in writing, the ban didn't actually exist.

In the conversations with faculty, Armstrong also downplayed the changes agreed to with the Trump team. One issue Armstrong highlighted was the mask policy. While Columbia’s letter to the Trump team agreed to ban masks that conceal identity during unauthorized protests, Armstrong told faculty there was no mask ban.

On Monday, a statement from the Trump team noted that Columbia agreed to “enforcing a strict anti-masking policy that includes appropriate enforcement mechanisms for violations, including removal from campus or detention for trespassing.”

Several faculty complained the administration was engaged in strategic ambiguity by sending mixed signals to different constituencies—one for the public and one for faculty.

Students on Monday tested the school’s position. A group wore keffiyehs—a black-and-white scarf emblematic of solidarity with Palestinians—as well as face masks.

Strategic ambiguity means you don't take a specific public position so your opponent is left to guess what you might do in response to their actions. What's described here isn't strategic ambiguity it's just lying. Columbia did take a public position on masks. Here's the page on Columbia's website where they spell out the new rules.

All individuals who engage in protests or demonstrations, including those who wear face masks or face coverings, must, when asked, present their University identification to the satisfaction of a University Delegate or Public Safety officer. Individuals who fail to comply with these policies will be subject to discipline, being escorted off campus, and detention for trespass where appropriate.

Given the risk of disruption from non-affiliates, public safety has determined that face masks or face coverings are not allowed on our campuses for the purpose of concealing one’s identity in the commission of violations of University policies or state, municipal or federal laws.  Face masks or face coverings are always allowed for religious or medical reasons.

Masks for concealing identity are not allowed, but of course the policy only exists if Columbia enforces it. If no one demands students wearing masks remove them or asks for ID as described above, then the new policy is a paper tiger. Yesterday when students with masks were chanting about Palestine, the policy wasn't enforced.

On Sunday the Trump administration indicated Columbia was doing all the right things and was on a path to a restoration of federal funding. But given what was reported last night, the Trump administration needs to have another chat with interim president Katrina Armstrong. If she's thinking she can lie her way through this, I think she's in for a bad surprise.

I do wonder if CUAD learned about Armstrong's statement (that there is no mask ban) prior to the protest Monday. They certainly have friends among the faculty who could have shared this with them.

In any case, CUAD would rather see the school lose all its funding than comply with anything coming from the Trump administration. One of their recent posts on Instagram stated, "An institution like this cannot be saved and should not be allowed to continue undisrupted." Columbia needs to consider the possibility that these students are trying to provoke a fight with the Trump administration that will bring the school to its knees. If Columbia won't divest from Israel, CUAD would be fine with the US divesting from Columbia. Once again, Columbia seems to have underestimated just how extreme these students are.

Update: Education Secretary McMahon responds.

Education Secretary Linda McMahon said Tuesday that Columbia University must “comply” with its public commitments to rein in anti-Israel activism to regain $400 million in recently axed federal funding — after the school’s interim president reportedly privately watered down her public commitment to crack down on face masks.

McMahon did not directly comment on the alleged doublespeak by Katrina Armstrong, but said that Columbia is not fast-tracked to regain the funding as the administration ensures it keeps its word...

“They have to abide and comply with the terms that we have set down and [we’ve] talked with them and they’ve agreed to,” McMahon told a small group of reporters over breakfast at the Education Department’s headquarters near Capitol Hill.