The Trump administration has forced universities to comply with its policy preferences, including allegations of discrimination, freezing millions of dollars in research funding, and overwhelming administrators with civil rights investigations. Columbia University, UCLA, and Columbia University have all cut deals with the Trump administration to resolve accusations related to antisemitism, diversity, equity and inclusion programs, and transgender rights. The means used to secure these deals amount to extortion, with Columbia freezing over $400 million in research funding with no due process and in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. Harvard University, which chose to litigate but is reported to be negotiating a deal, had over $2 billion in federal grants and contracts frozen and faces half a dozen civil rights investigations and threats to its international student population, tax exempt status, and accreditation.
The Trump administration’s draconian demands have provided at least part of the impetus for institutions to revise their policies. Harvard has announced initiatives to encourage respectful discourse and support research on antisemitism, while other colleges and universities are making efforts to maintain their commitments to free speech while tightening time, place, and manner restrictions on protests. Critics of the Trump administration’s effort to remake higher education have criticized the bullying that is forcing universities to accept unprecedented government intrusion into university affairs.
