Columbia University Makes Changes to Comply With Trump’s Demands
Columbia University clearly recognizes that Trump was not bluffing when he withheld hundreds of millions in federal funds and demanded that the school change certain policies if it wants that money to start flowing again.
The school has scrambled to make the necessary changes and they’re almost there.
FOX News reports:
Columbia University yields to Trump admin demands over revoked $400M in federal fundingColumbia University has caved in to demands from the Trump administration in an effort to restore $400 million in federal funding that was yanked over how the school addresses antisemitism on campus.The Ivy League school agreed to ban masks for the purpose of concealing identity, empower 36 campus police officers with new powers to arrest students and appoint a senior vice provost with broad authority to oversee the department of Middle East, South Asian and African Studies, as well as the Center for Palestine Studies.Sources familiar with the negotiations told Fox News that meeting the demands doesn’t mean that Columbia will get their $400 million in funding back, but that it’s just a precondition to opening talks.In a letter, Katrina Armstrong, Columbia’s interim president, said the agreement “outlines the substantive work” the university has done over the past academic year.”The way Columbia and Columbians have been portrayed is hard to reckon with. We have challenges, yes, but they do not define us,” she said. “We teach the brightest, most creative students in the world, and we care deeply for each and every one of them. I have every faith in our ability to overcome the greatest of challenges. We stand resilient and brilliant.”
The school still has to go further on the mask ban:
Here’s a video report from CBS News in New York:
As you can imagine, some progressive academics are furious about this.
Inside Higher Ed reports:
After the news broke — first reported by The Wall Street Journal — many critics panned the move.In a Friday press call, American Association of University Professors President Todd Wolfson blasted Columbia for failing to stand up to Trump.“This is not the outcome we wanted to see we wanted to see Columbia stand up for their rights for academic freedom and freedom of speech on their campus and we did not expect for them to not only capitulate to the demands of the federal government but actually go beyond the initial demands as far as we can tell,” Wolfson said.“This is an unprecedented intervention into academic freedom—never before in Columbia’s 250+ years has the federal government tried to exert control over a department before. And Trump et al. are only getting started,” Columbia history professor Karl Jacoby wrote on Bluesky.Outside experts pointed to the likelihood that more universities will give in to Trump’s threats now that Columbia has yielded.“Trump gets exactly what he wants from Columbia. Next up: most of the big-name institutions in American higher education. This is a turning point in the history of our industry,” Robert Kelchen, a professor of education and head of the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, wrote in a Bluesky post.
It’s so telling that the fiercest criticism is coming from people on Bluesky, the Twitter alternative for leftists who despise Trump and Elon Musk.
Featured image via YouTube.
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