Trump’s Big Win on Campus
Columbia University is paying $200 million, completing its capitulation. In exchange, federal funding is to be made available again.
Columbia University in the U.S. has completed its kowtow to Donald Trump’s administration. On Wednesday, the university administration announced in a statement that it would pay a fine of $200 million to the government. In exchange, $400 million in federal funding that had been frozen would be made available, along with $1.3 billion in annual federal funding.
In addition, the university is committing to a range of measures that had already been agreed upon with the federal government in March. It says that it will monitor any protests on campus more closely in the future and end its diversity, equity and inclusion programs. A new person will be hired to monitor compliance with these commitments.
Moreover, the Middle Eastern studies department will receive external oversight. A liaison for antisemitism will ensure that Jewish students do not feel discriminated against or threatened. By Tuesday, the university had issued penalties against some 80 students who participated in campus protests against Israel’s actions in Gaza.
Alleged Violations of Anti-Discrimination Principles
In addition to the $200 million, Columbia will pay an additional $21 million to settle investigations for alleged violations of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Act. The investigations are related to accusations from the right that programs for supporting underserved minorities violated equal protection principles.
With the deal, the university administration hopes to end the conflict with the Trump administration and to no longer have to fear additional financial penalties. Columbia thus continues to pursue a path opposite to that of Harvard University in Massachusetts. Confronted with similar demands, accusations and attempts at extortion, that university’s administration decided not to concede but instead to sue the government in court. The outcome remains unknown.
Columbia’s leadership emphasizes that the deal with the government will not threaten independence of research and teaching. It is a point that many critics are loudly disputing. Suresh Naidu, a professor of economics and international public affairs at Columbia, wrote in The New York Times that he fears that the capitulation has simply opened all the doors for further demands from the federal government.
Columbia University in the U.S. has completed its kowtow to Donald Trump’s administration. On Wednesday, the university administration announced in a statement that it would pay a fine of $200 million to the government. In exchange, $400 million in federal funding that had been frozen would be made available, along with $1.3 billion in annual federal funding.
In addition, the university is committing to a range of measures that had already been agreed upon with the federal government in March. It says that it will monitor any protests on campus more closely in the future and end its diversity, equity and inclusion programs. A new person will be hired to monitor compliance with these commitments.
Moreover, the Middle Eastern studies department will receive external oversight. A liaison for antisemitism will ensure that Jewish students do not feel discriminated against or threatened. By Tuesday, the university had issued penalties against some 80 students who participated in campus protests against Israel’s actions in Gaza.
Alleged Violations of Anti-Discrimination Principles
In addition to the $200 million, Columbia will pay an additional $21 million to settle investigations for alleged violations of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Act. The investigations are related to accusations from the right that programs for supporting underserved minorities violated equal protection principles.
With the deal, the university administration hopes to end the conflict with the Trump administration and to no longer have to fear additional financial penalties. Columbia thus continues to pursue a path opposite to that of Harvard University in Massachusetts. Confronted with similar demands, accusations and attempts at extortion, that university’s administration decided not to concede but instead to sue the government in court. The outcome remains unknown.
Columbia’s leadership emphasizes that the deal with the government will not threaten independence of research and teaching. It is a point that many critics are loudly disputing. Suresh Naidu, a professor of economics and international public affairs at Columbia, wrote in The New York Times that he fears that the capitulation has simply opened all the doors for further demands from the federal government.
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