Dive Transient:
- The Trump administration is reviewing Columbia College’s federal grants and contracts due to allegations that the Ivy League establishment hasn’t achieved sufficient to guard Jewish college students from antisemitism, in line with a Monday announcement from three federal businesses
- The Activity Drive to Fight Anti-Semitism — which President Donald Trump created through government order — plans to evaluation over $5 billion in grants dedicated to Columbia to make sure the college is complying with federal civil rights legal guidelines and different necessities. The duty power can also be mulling issuing stop-work orders to Columbia for federal contracts price $51.4 million.
- The evaluation marks the group’s first main transfer in what’s more likely to turn into a bigger probe into how faculties have dealt with campus unrest — one that might threaten billions in federal funding at Columbia and elsewhere.
Dive Perception:
Columbia is much from the one college going through federal scrutiny from the duty power, which the U.S. Division of Justice fashioned in early February. The group — which is initially centered on eliminating antisemitism on school campuses — additionally consists of members from the U.S. Division of Schooling, U.S. Division of Well being and Human Providers and different federal businesses.
Late final week, the duty power mentioned it could go to 10 school campuses, together with Columbia, to research allegations that they’ve failed to guard Jewish college students from discrimination.
The ten — all rich and well-known establishments — consists of Harvard College, New York College and the College of Southern California.
The duty power’s evaluation of Columbia’s grants and contracts was sparked by its “ongoing inaction within the face of relentless harassment of Jewish college students,” in line with a Monday announcement from the Schooling Division, Well being and Human Providers Division and U.S. Common Providers Administration.
The college mentioned in an announcement Monday that it’s reviewing the announcement.
“Columbia is totally dedicated to combatting antisemitism and all types of discrimination, and we’re resolute that calling for, selling, or glorifying violence or terror has no place at our College,” it mentioned. “We sit up for ongoing work with the brand new federal administration to combat antisemitism.”
The establishment’s New York campus grew to become the epicenter of the pro-Palestinian protests that rocked faculties final spring when college students erected an encampment on the college’s garden in April, sparking related demonstrations nationwide.
In a 325-page report final 12 months, Republican lawmakers accused Columbia and 10 different high-profile universities of creating “stunning concessions” to the protesters whereas failing to guard Jewish college students from antisemitism.
In an announcement Monday, newly put in U.S. Schooling Secretary Linda McMahon echoed these considerations.
“Illegal encampments and demonstrations have fully paralyzed day-to-day campus operations, depriving Jewish college students of studying alternatives to which they’re entitled,” McMahon mentioned.
Following the wave of campus protests throughout spring 2024, many faculties tightened their protest guidelines within the fall. Since then, faculties haven’t seen large-scale encampments, although protesters at Columbia and elsewhere have staged sit-ins and different demonstrations.
McMahon warned that giant swaths of Columbia’s federal funding are on the road.
“Establishments that obtain federal funds have a accountability to guard all college students from discrimination,” McMahon mentioned. “Columbia’s obvious failure to uphold their finish of this primary settlement raises very severe questions concerning the establishment’s health to proceed doing enterprise with the USA authorities.”
In a Fact Social publish Tuesday, Trump amped up the threats to schools’ federal funding over campus unrest.
“All Federal Funding will STOP for any Faculty, College, or College that enables unlawful protests,” Trump mentioned. “Agitators will probably be imprisoned/or completely despatched again to the nation from which they got here.”
The president additionally threatened taking part American college students with expulsion or arrest.
