The Trump administration has announced the cancellation of $400 million in federal grants and contracts to Columbia University. This decision follows Columbia's establishment of a new disciplinary committee and its initiation of investigations into students critical of Israel and its actions in Gaza. The announcement, made on Friday, underscores the ongoing tensions between the administration and American universities, which are seen by conservatives as predominantly liberal.
The move comes in response to what the administration describes as Columbia's failure to protect Jewish students from antisemitic harassment. Linda McMahon, the Trump-appointed Secretary of Education, had warned that Columbia would face funding cuts unless it took stronger measures against antisemitism on campus. The university currently holds over $5 billion in federal grant commitments.
"For too long, Columbia has abandoned that obligation to Jewish students studying on its campus," McMahon stated.
Katherine Franke, a retired legal scholar and former professor at Columbia Law School, revealed that she was "pushed out" of her position in January due to her pro-Palestinian activism. She noted that the university was under pressure to adopt a pro-Israeli stance or face sanctions.
"Unless we as faculty and students take a pro-Israeli position, it [the university] will be sanctioned," Franke remarked.
Columbia University is one of five colleges currently under federal investigation and among ten being visited by a taskforce responding to allegations of antisemitism. The investigation extends to other institutions including the University of California, Berkeley; the University of Minnesota; Northwestern University; and Portland State University. These universities are scrutinized for their handling of pro-Palestinian demonstrations, which some argue verge on antisemitism.
The Trump administration has labeled certain student protests as "illegal," although what defines these as such remains ambiguous. Pro-Palestinian protests have been a point of contention, with demonstrators setting up encampments at various colleges, inspiring similar movements nationwide. The extent to which these demonstrations can be considered antisemitic is still debated across political and academic spheres.
"These cancellations represent the first round of action and additional cancellations are expected to follow," stated the Department of Justice, Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Education, and the US General Services Administration.
In response to the funding cut, a Columbia University spokesperson expressed commitment to addressing antisemitism while maintaining student safety and wellbeing.
"We take Columbia’s legal obligations seriously and understand how serious this announcement is and are committed to combatting antisemitism and ensuring the safety and wellbeing of our students, faculty, and staff," the spokesperson asserted.
Franke also highlighted the potential impact on research due to the loss of funding.
"Cut a significant part of them, and the important research that’s being done with those grants will stop," she warned.
Furthermore, Franke criticized the administration's approach, suggesting it emboldens authoritarian tendencies.
"If you grovel before a bully, it just emboldens the bully, and the bully has now become an authoritarian government with the capacity to act on a level that was unthinkable for us a couple of years ago," she commented.
The controversy adds to a broader backlash against American universities by conservatives who believe higher education is dominated by liberal ideology. The First Amendment protects the rights to peacefully assemble and petition the government for a redress of grievances, yet tensions over how these rights are exercised on campuses persist.