Cornell, Trump Admin Reach Deal to Restore Federal Funding
Next time just crack down on antisemitism right away. This isn’t hard.
Cornell announced a deal with the Trump administration to restore federal funding.
The administration froze millions of dollars intended for Cornell with the departments of Agriculture, Defense, Education, and Health & Human Services.
President Donald Trump halted the funding due to Title VI investigations, which cover discrimination based on race, color, or national origin.
Cornell is one of many schools that experienced rampant antisemitism after October 7, 2023.
One student shut down Cornell after making violent threats towards Jewish students and the Kosher Dining Hall. He received a 21-month prison sentence.
From the press release:
The agreement explicitly recognizes Cornell’s right to independently establish our policies and procedures, choose whom to hire and admit, and determine what we teach, without intrusive government monitoring or approvals. In short, it recognizes our rights, as a private university, to define the conditions on our campuses that advance learning and produce new knowledge. It reaffirms, as well, our continuing commitment to follow the law, protect everyone in our community from discrimination, and make admissions and hiring decisions based on merit —principles to which we have already independently and publicly committed — while upholding our founding principle of “… any person … any study.” I will personally certify our institutional compliance with the agreement on a regular basis, and Cornell will provide anonymized admissions data and continue to conduct campus climate surveys and carry out foreign gift and contract reporting in accordance with existing law.
Cornell has not been found in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 in any of the investigations or compliance reviews of the university’s programs pending at the Department of Justice, Department of Education, or Department of Health and Human Services, and the government has agreed to close all of these investigations and reviews. The government has further agreed to restore terminated federal grants, release all withheld funds for active grants, and consider Cornell fully eligible for new grants and funding awards, without disadvantage or preference.
Cornell agreed to comply “with federal civil rights laws” and to use the DOJ’s “Guidance for Recipients of Federal Funding Regarding Unlawful Discrimination” as a training resource.
The DOJ issued the guidance in July:
In particular, it clarifies that federal antidiscrimination laws apply to programs or initiatives that involve discriminatory practices, including those labeled as Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (“DEI”) programs. Entities that receive federal funds, like all other entities subject to federal antidiscrimination laws, must ensure that their programs and activities comply with federal law and do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, religion, or other protected characteristics—no matter the program’s labels, objectives, or intentions.
Cornell must also continue its surveys that evaluate the campus climate, “including the climate for students with shared Jewish ancestry.”
The survey will ask students whether they feel safe reporting antisemitism and whether the changes made at Cornell have benefited the university’s community.
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Comments
Antisemitism is legal. Intimidation is not.
I do not believe BS coming from Administrators. usually a lower form of life like politicians and used care salesmen.
They will continue to discriminant, and will require a harsh response to learn otherwise.
This is just Cornell providing lip service to the Trump administration and to anyone else in the world who is against discrimination.
We can expect Cornell to do anything and everything possible to continue its discriminatory policies regarding admissions and the sociopolitical climate on campus.