Pro-Israel students returned to Columbia University from spring break on Monday cautiously optimistic that ongoing negotiations between university leaders and the Trump administration would herald an end to the antisemitic demonstrations that have roiled the campus since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terror attacks.

Instead, students were greeted with familiar protests and disruptions. Dozens of masked demonstrators overtook campus, hanging a large “Free Palestine” sign from a building and chanting so loudly it could be heard from inside classrooms.

The negotiations, which were announced on Friday and include rules around the wearing of masks on campus as well as oversight of the school’s Middle Eastern studies department, are a first step toward restoring $400 million in federal funding, according to both the university and the White House.

The reforms agreed upon between Columbia and the federal government include a policy that administration can ask those covering their faces with masks on campus to present identification; clarification of time, place and manner restrictions to clearly state that protests in academic buildings are prohibited; the hiring of 36 “special officers who will have the ability to remove individuals from campus and/or arrest them”; advancing Columbia’s Tel Aviv Center; and putting the Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African studies department and the Center for Palestine Studies under the purview of a senior vice provost, who will be appointed by the university and will supervise course material and non-tenure faculty hiring.

On Sunday, Secretary of Education Linda McMahon told CNN that Columbia is “on the right track” to restore the $400 million that the federal government cut from the university on March 7, but she declined to confirm that the canceled grants and contracts would be reinstated.

Jewish leaders, both on and off Columbia’s campus, remain skeptical over whether the concessions will bring a new normal to campus — noting that any changes will come down to the implementation of the agreed upon terms.

Eden Yadegar, a senior studying Middle East studies and modern Jewish studies who has testified before Congress about the antisemitism she has faced on Columbia’s campus, called the government’s list of reforms “not only constructive but necessary.”

“Until Columbia effectively implements these reforms, though, there is no judgement to be made. Contrary to much reporting, Columbia has not implemented the vast majority of these reforms — such as banning masks when used to intimidate or conceal identity, or instituting common time, place and manner protest guidelines,” Yadegar told Jewish Insider. “This is not a value judgement but rather a fact — despite talks with the federal government, Columbia has yet to take meaningful action in comprehensively implementing their list of reforms.”

Eliana Goldin, a fourth-year political science major and co-chair of the campus pro-Israel group Aryeh, argued that this is “definitely not” a moment of reform for the university.

Goldin expressed that she believes that Columbia was “intentionally vague” in its document provided to the federal government on updates to its priorities. “It’s not a done deal,” she said.

“It is promising that Columbia has articulated a plan to address antisemitism,” Brian Cohen, executive director of Columbia Hillel, told JI. Cohen said that the plan could “move us in the right direction,” noting that “there is a lot of work to be done to change the culture of Columbia.”

Next steps between the university and the government remain unclear, Cohen said.

“The effectiveness of these changes will depend entirely on their implementation and enforcement,” the Anti-Defamation League said in a statement. “Columbia must be held accountable for putting these commitments into action. Such practices must protect free speech and academic freedom but not extend to rule breaking actions.”

On Monday, the Trump administration’s Joint Task Force to Combat Antisemitism said in a statement that Columbia’s “compliance with the Task Force’s preconditions is only the first step in rehabilitating its relationship with the government, and more importantly, its students and faculty.”

The task force added that “the decisive steps” should “serve as a roadmap for universities with similar problems across the country.”

“Columbia’s early steps are a positive sign, but they must continue to show that they are serious in their resolve to end anti-Semitism and protect all students and faculty on their campus through permanent and structural reform,” Federal Acquisition Service Commissioner and Task Force member Josh Gruenbaum said in a statement. “Other universities that are being investigated by the Task Force should expect the same level of scrutiny and swiftness of action if they don’t act to protect their students and stop anti-Semitic behavior on campus.”