The sharp withdrawal of the Trump administration of $ 400 million in federal funding from the University of Columbia threw a Pall over at least nine other campuses who were concerned that they could be next.
Schools, a mixture that includes both public universities and Ivy League institutions, have been placed on a formal list of schools that the Ministry of Justice said it failed to protect Jewish students and the school.
The leaders of the schools in many of the schools have strongly pushed the claims that their campuses are outbreaks of anti -Semitism, noting that while some Jewish students complained that they felt insecure, the overwhelming majority of the protesters were peaceful.
Trump’s administration has made priority in higher education. This week, the president threatened a position of social media to punish any school that allows “illegal” protests. On January 30, his 10th day signed an executive mandate to combat anti-Semitism, focusing on what he called anti-Jewish racism at the “left” universities. Then, on February 3, he announced the creation of a work team to execute the command.
The working group appeared to move quickly to action after a pre-Palestinian seat and a protest at Barnard College, a school of partners in Columbia, led to arrests on February 26th. Two days later, the administration released the list of 10 schools under control, including Columbia, the place of large pre-Palistinian camps last year.
He said he would pay a visit to schools, part of a review process to examine “if corrective action is justified”. Then, on Friday, he announced that he would cancel millions of grants and contracts with Columbia.
The University of Harvard, whose former President Claudine Gay resigned last year after a bruise appearance before a residence committee, is also on the list.
So is George Washington University. Johns Hopkins University. University of New York. Northwestern University? The University of California, Los Angeles. The University of California, Berkeley. The University of Minnesota. and the University of Southern California.
Trump’s administration’s moves to fund the university and the school’s goal on claims that they had tolerated anti -Semitisms had already caused internal re -accommodation in schools across the country. Some have enhanced pressure efforts, including hiring interest groups with connections to Mr Trump.
Many campuses had already broken students about protest activity. More call back or renaming efforts related to diversity, an attempt to avoid the rage of Trump officials who have promised to terminate such programs
And a number has stopped hiring and reduced the number of doctoral students who were accepted in response to economic uncertainty.
Some school officials said they were facing an “existential threat”. Still, many presidents have been silent or silently in their public statements about Mr Trump’s moves against the sector, which seems to be back in fear of the new administration.
In a statement on Saturday, Harvard said that “he pledged to ensure that our Jewish community is embraced, respected and can thrive at Harvard and our efforts to deal with anti -Semitism and all forms of hatred”.
Several days after the inauguration of Mr Trump, President, Dr. Alan M. Garber, published a message at Cowritten University with other administration leaders.
“In these difficult times,” they wrote, “our efforts will be guided by our values and commitments: supporting academic excellence and the pursuit of knowledge. Supporting open research, constructive dialogue and academic freedom. ”
The selection criteria for the existence of visits are cloudy, but some schools were included in an exhibition last October by the Education Committee and the workforce, which claimed to allow anti -Semitic behavior from students and the school.
The report criticized Harvard’s leaders, citing their initial failure to condemn Hamas’ attack on Israel in October 2023.
Northwestern and its president, Michael Schill, had also been attacked by the House Committee, led by Virginia Foxx spokesman, a democratic by North Carolina. The Commission’s report criticized the University for the placement of the “radical anti-Israeli school” responsible for negotiations with protesters.
The University of California, Berkeley, was found in the body’s report to avoid discipline students who participated in a camp or interrupted an Israeli speaker.
Berkeley issued a statement on Saturday saying: “We are sure we have the right procedures that are now in place to respond to any anti -Semitic incidents.” The statement reported a Chancellor for the Jewish student life and the anti -Semitism of the campus.
While many of the schools were catering for campus protests, others are more surprising.
Richard Painter, a professor of law in Minnesota, was among those who filed a complaint about anti -Semitism at the university. He had collapsed in campus incidents, including anti-Israeli statements published by the School for the official websites of the Department.
However, Mr Painter, a former White House lawyer during the administration of George Bush, wondered if the school was in part because he is in the area of Congress by representative Ilhan Omar, a vocal critic of both Israel and Mr. Trump. Timz, who ran to former Vice President Kamala Harris.
“Part of this is a political one,” he said in an interview on Saturday.
Employees at the University of Minnesota could not be approached for comments, but the efforts already underway to deal with complaints. The Regents Council is expected to vote next Friday for resolution Prohibition of individual departments from making political statements on the day.
There were evidence suggesting that the action of the administration against Columbia was accelerated by last month’s sit-in at Barnard, which led to additional protests last week. Protests triggered from Barnard’s decision to expel two students who interrupted a class in Israel.
On March 3, six days after Barnard’s initial disorder, the government sent Columbia notice that it would review $ 51 million in federal contracts, citing the harassment of Jewish students.
The next day, Mr Trump published a statement about the truth about the social word, partly: “All federal funding will stop for any college, school or university that allows illegal protests”.
In a press release on Friday, announcing the cancellation of $ 400 million in grants and contracts, the Task Force also accused Columbia of not responding to the previous notice, while anti -Semitic harassment continued or near campus.
On Friday, Columbia said it revised the administration’s announcement and promised to work with the government.
Also on Friday, Linda McMahon, the recently established Secretary of Education, met with Columbia’s temporary president, Dr. Katrina Armstrong. Mrs McMahon issued a statement saying that schools “must comply with all federal laws against discrimination” to receive federal funding.
The Task Force list was released in late February amid a turbulence of executive orders from the White House.
Members of the Working Group include Leo Terrell, a senior lawyer of the Ministry of Justice. The efforts to achieve Mr Terrell were not successful on Saturday. It was also not clear if any of the campus visits were scheduled.
