Althouse: "The Trump administration is discussing pulling hundreds of millions of dollars in federal contracts and grant commitments to Columbia University..."

March 7, 2025

"The Trump administration is discussing pulling hundreds of millions of dollars in federal contracts and grant commitments to Columbia University..."

"... as part of the government’s efforts to penalize schools it believes aren’t doing enough to combat antisemitism. The Ivy League school has come under scrutiny by the Trump administration for an alleged failure to protect Jewish students.... A person with knowledge of the discussions said the university will have a 30-day review period to address the government’s concerns and potentially reinstate the contracts.... Columbia drew especially heated criticism from some alumni for what they perceived as the university’s tepid response...."

From "Trump Administration Weighs Pulling Hundreds of Millions in Federal Funds From Columbia/Move would target the Ivy League school over allegations of antisemitism" (Wall Street Journal).

57 comments:

TeaBagHag said...: Free speech is back, baby!; 3/7/25, 12:05 PM
RCOCEAN II said...: Lets see if any Leftwing Judge tries to stop this. LOL.; 3/7/25, 12:06 PM
Peachy said...: um. why are we giving Columbia any money at all? anyway?
These rich universities need to be self-sustaining.
I realize the grant money is probably for scientific research - but so what?
These grants need to be scrutinized.; 3/7/25, 12:09 PM
Temujin said...: TeaBagHag...free speech is still OK. Still allowed. No one is being censored. They can be as publicly antisemitic as they like. But we don't need to continue to pay for it.
They're sitting on a $14.8 billion dollar endowment. Might be time to use it and stop asking- no...expecting us to pay for it.; 3/7/25, 12:13 PM
Greg The Class Traitor said...: TeaBagHag said...
Free speech is back, baby!

Wait, Hag, are you saying you support free speech for those who disagree with you?
No?
Of course not!

But breaking into buildings isn't "free speech", and neither is refusing to punish it; 3/7/25, 12:18 PM
mikee said...: Those wearing their keffiyeh as masks during their protests are sometimes violating a law. From google: "California, Michigan, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, and Florida make it an offense to wear a mask if the person commits a crime or intends to commit a crime. Additionally, in Florida, North Dakota, and Oklahoma, it is an offense to wear a mask with the intent to harass or intimidate another person."

Columbia doesn't have that as an issue. However, I see anyone in Muslim garb, especially masked, misbehaving publicly and my thoughts immediately go to "suicide bomber." So please don't do that about me, as violence directed your way may offend.; 3/7/25, 12:22 PM
MadisonMan said...: As a funds-receiver, I'll withhold too much comment. I am curious though: my funding was sent to the University in a chunk. I'm not sure how it would work for the Govt to (try to) claw that back. I assume the University could just say "No, thanks, We'll keep that money"...but I would have to be searching earnestly for different funding sources for the next year, I guess.; 3/7/25, 12:26 PM
Jupiter said...: "I realize the grant money is probably for scientific research".
You need scare quotes around that last phrase.; 3/7/25, 12:27 PM
Pillage Idiot said...: A few decades ago, violent racist Leftists blocked a reviled (to them) minority from the schoolhouse doors. They wore pointy white hoods to hide their identities. The Republicans then passed Klan anti-masking laws to weaken that racist organization.

Once again, violent racist Leftists are blocking a minority from the schoolhouse doors. Once again, they are wearing masks to hide their identities. Once again, it is Democrats in power either aiding and abetting the racists, or at least looking the other way. Will the Democrats in charge of Columbia, NYC, or NY state stop these neo-Klansmen, or will they continue to coddle them?; 3/7/25, 12:32 PM
Dave Begley said...: Hit the universities where it hurts: the pocketbook.; 3/7/25, 12:33 PM
Larry J said...: If they're violating Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by discriminating against Jewish students because of their religion, then halting their federal funding seems appropriate.; 3/7/25, 12:38 PM
Hassayamper said...: Good. Let's make Columbia our Admiral Byng, pour encourager les autres.

Or as the Chinese proverb goes, kill a chicken to scare the monkeys.; 3/7/25, 12:42 PM
Kakistocracy said...: The Market has lost confidence in the competence of the Trump economic team.

Amazing that anyone thought there was any competence to begin with….; 3/7/25, 12:42 PM
bagoh20 said...: ""... as part of the government’s efforts to penalize schools it believes aren’t doing enough to combat antisemitism. "
That's one way of seeing it, or you could say they don't want to fund and support such a thing, but that doesn't give you the negative vibe required.; 3/7/25, 12:42 PM
Iman said...: Teh Hag what Tea Bags!

Oh! Muh plums!!!; 3/7/25, 12:43 PM
Peachy said...: kakapoodle provides the annoying mosquito experience.; 3/7/25, 12:44 PM
bagoh20 said...: "The Market has lost confidence in the competence of the Trump economic team."

You should sell everything before it's too late. Buy something nice, like a new pair of socks.; 3/7/25, 12:50 PM
The Cracker Emcee Refulgent said...: "RCOCEAN II said...
Lets see if any Leftwing Judge tries to stop this. LOL"

They will in a heartbeat. As the Trump administration knows perfectly well. So this isn't about funding Columbia or any other university. This is about positioning the narrative so the Democrats end up defending anti-semitism.

The Trump people are relentless.; 3/7/25, 1:02 PM
Readering said...: Columbia's president already resigned over criticism of her handling of the protests over mass civilian killings in Gaza. But the first amendment applies to protests, whatever the viewpoint. Trump shows he actually believes in viewpoint discrimination.; 3/7/25, 1:10 PM
john mosby said...: Readering: "the first amendment applies to protests, whatever the viewpoint. Trump shows he actually believes in viewpoint discrimination."

Imagine Obama.

Imagine it's 2011 and Southern Bumfuck State University's Students for Better Dixie has an "Anti-Urban-Crime Day of Rage" on campus, wearing butternut coats and white sheets, waving the Stars and Bars, and questioning Black people trying to come on campus.

How soon do you think Obama would cut off all of SBSU's funds?

JSM; 3/7/25, 1:14 PM
gilbar said...: tea bag?
a serious question for you:
should Jewish students at Columbia have free speech?
what about their right to assemble?
what about their right to go to classes that they've paid tuition for?
what living? tea bag, would YOU go so far, as to assert that Jewish students should be permitted to exist?
please let me know.. I'll wait for your answers; 3/7/25, 1:16 PM
The Cracker Emcee Refulgent said...: Sorry, Readering, but the Left has already, very publicly, abandoned the principle of free speech. To the point where every apolitical teenager with a phone is keenly aware of it. That isn’t going to work as a diversion. The Democrats have to be the Brownshirts or nothing.; 3/7/25, 1:19 PM
gilbar said...: https://www.cnn.com/2024/06/04/business/columbia-university-settles-jewish-student-hostile-environment-on-campus/index.html

https://www.cnn.com/2024/08/30/us/columbia-task-force-finds-troubling-pattern-of-behavior-toward-jewish-students-on-campus/index.html

https://nypost.com/2024/08/31/us-news/columbia-antisemitism-task-force-details-student-assaults-targeting-after-oct-7/
"Jewish Columbia students were chased out of dorms, spat on, and pinned against walls: damning report"; 3/7/25, 1:19 PM
Steven said...: Something that is overlooked about why Columbia is a focus for concerns about antisemitism (besides being in a major media market) is that so much of the population of the school is Jewish. It is about 20% of the students. I don't know the fraction for the faculty, but it is probably similar. You get more complaints about antisemitism because there are more people there to notice it.

Ironically, the Trump administration claims they will fight antisemitism by removing funds from the school. So, a disproportionate fraction of the people who will be hurt are actually Jews.

This is going to hurt more Jewish people than the obnoxious Palestinian protestors ever did.; 3/7/25, 1:20 PM
tommyesq said...: Why would an organization that charges $93,417 per year to its 31,455 students to attend and that has a $14.8 billion endowment require "hundreds of millions" of federal dollars?; 3/7/25, 1:29 PM
Readering said...: John Mosby. Read a history of civil rights movement in the south. RFJ Jr actually published a book on a leading federal judge helping keep access for black university students in face of majority local racism.; 3/7/25, 1:30 PM
Rocco said...: Steven said...
“Ironically, the Trump administration claims they will fight antisemitism by removing funds from the school.”

A school with - per Temujin’s numbers - a $14.8 billion endowment. If anybody’s education costs more, it’s because those at the University in charge of the purse strings want it to.

“So, a disproportionate fraction of the people who will be hurt are actually Jews.”

Huh? Let’s assume the funding removal has the desired effect and anti-semites are no longer free to harass Jewish students. How are Jews disproportionately harmed?; 3/7/25, 1:43 PM
Iman said...: “RFJ Jr actually published a book on a leading federal judge helping keep access for black university students in face of majority local racism.”

Those damn Southern Democrats had to be dealt with. No getting around it.; 3/7/25, 1:43 PM
rhhardin said...: Antisemitism is legal. Intimidation is not.; 3/7/25, 1:44 PM
Krumhorn said...: But the first amendment applies to protests, whatever the viewpoint. Trump shows he actually believes in viewpoint discrimination.

It's hard to believe that Readering is so dopey to believe that criminal behavior is, or should be, a protected "protest" activity regardless of viewpoint. The entire meaning of civil disobedience is that one accepts the consequences of the act. Only a spoiled leftie brat would bray about viewpoint discrimination when it comes to consequences.

- Krumhorn; 3/7/25, 1:57 PM
Steven said...: "How are Jews disproportionately harmed?"

Something I think many people don't know - For many fields of science, you do not have to pay to go to school. You do research, and get paid to do it. So, if you are getting a doctorate in biomedical science, you get a stipend and free tuition in exchange for your work on the project. This is unlike say law school, and the reason is that scientists make much less money as a career than lawyers do.

The point is, a very large fraction of people pursuing these studies at Columbia are Jewish. If those grants are cancelled, they will lose their funding. Along with other scientists, associated staff, and so forth, again many of whom are Jewish because it is in New York City, which has the largest fraction of Jewish people in the country.; 3/7/25, 2:05 PM
Hassayamper said...: Trump shows he actually believes in viewpoint discrimination.

1) The many crimes that leftist campus agitators have committed, like assault, menacing, harassment, breaking and entering, stalking, trespassing, vandalism, and so on, are not a "viewpoint" covered by the First Amendment. As soon as they commit a crime, out they fucking go, never to return.
2) Foreigners on student visas are guests who are allowed here only at the President's pleasure. They probably have the First Amendment right not to face criminal prosecution and imprisonment for opinions expressed in a legal, non-violent manner, but they certainly can have their visas revoked for expressing opinions and viewpoints that are uncongenial to American values as interpreted by the President or his designee. We deny visas to nasty foreign pieces of shit all the time, and no one worries about their supposed right to get one.
3) Most definitely, I'm unwilling to listen to sermonizing about "viewpoint discrimination" from anyone who supported either the Obama or Biden administrations. Such people can go straight to hell.; 3/7/25, 2:05 PM
Drago said...: LLR-democratical Rich: "The Market has lost confidence in the competence of the Trump economic team."

As of a moment ago:
Dow Index
42,827.72
+ 248.64
0.58%

S&P 500 Index
5,772.80
+ 34.28
0.60%

NASDAQ Index
18,206.95
+ 137.70
0.76%

Discuss.; 3/7/25, 2:12 PM
Keith said...: Readering said...

Columbia's president already resigned over criticism of her handling of the protests over mass civilian killings in Gaza. But the first amendment applies to protests, whatever the viewpoint. Trump shows he actually believes in viewpoint discrimination.
3/7/25, 1:10 PM
...
Readering - NO ONE objects to protest. The problem is attacking Jews, and attacking Jews specifically for being Jewish. And for preventing Jews from attending classes. Do you not know this? Do you think this is in opposition to protests?; 3/7/25, 2:20 PM
Drago said...: Keith: "Readering - NO ONE objects to protest. The problem is attacking Jews, and attacking Jews specifically for being Jewish."

readering likes to play dumb so often one begins to wonder if its really just "playing" at it.; 3/7/25, 2:23 PM
Kakistocracy said...: Appeasement won't save you — a key lesson that should resonate around the globe.; 3/7/25, 2:37 PM
Rabel said...: Readering said...

"But the first amendment applies to protests, whatever the viewpoint."

J6.; 3/7/25, 2:42 PM
Readering said...: People have objected to protests and have interfered with non-violent protests. But folks who approve of that stick their heads in the sand.; 3/7/25, 2:45 PM
Drago said...: LLR-democratical Rich: "Appeasement won't save you — a key lesson that should resonate around the globe."

You guys don't just appease your ChiCom and islamic supremacist allies, you actively cater to them....which makes sense, since you are on their side.

And always have been.; 3/7/25, 2:48 PM
Josephbleau said...: 22 percent of Nobel winners are Jewish, your favorite scientific theory was probably created (or discovered) by a Jewish scientist. Columbia is stupid and self defeating.

Jews are beginning to move south for school, ivies who drive away Jewish students and faculty will be doomed to become second rate, for many reasons, but scaring away Jews is one of them.

Hamas students on visa are not going to raise the average sat score.; 3/7/25, 3:00 PM
Josephbleau said...: We have come full circle. Hitler threw Jews out of German Universities, and now Democrats think Trump is Hitler because they can’t throw Jews out of American Universities. WOW, just wow.; 3/7/25, 3:12 PM
mezzrow said...: Minds are being focused on making the main thing the main thing once more. Just decide what the main thing is, Academia. This way has money. That way leads to nothing, and you won't like it.; 3/7/25, 3:20 PM
Keith said...: Readering said...

People have objected to protests and have interfered with non-violent protests. But folks who approve of that stick their heads in the sand.
3/7/25, 2:45 PM

That's simply not true. If kids on campus want to stand in the quad with signs and shout, no one cares. It is when they block access to buildings, spit and punch Jews (or really anyone, just Jews in this situation) that it becomes illegal. It is when they set up barricades blocking students from accessing buildings etc. It's when they chase Jews into buildings and they have to try to lock the doors because they are afraid of a pogrom that it becomes problematic.

It's EXACTLY like people protesting oil pipelines. You want to protest in North Dakota? No one cares. You want to block freedom of movement? That needs to be prosecuted. I believe ND passed a law that if a protester illegally tries to block freedom of movements, the truckers will not be prosecuted if they run them over in the street.

Want to stand on the sidewalk and protest? That's what America is about. Want to block people from going to their jobs and prevent them from being able to put food on their families' tables? That needs to be punished.

Same thing with campus protests. And foreigners are allowed in to any country, whether here or Canada, or Saudi Arabia, at the pleasure of the government. I don't think our country is better or stronger by letting in Muslims from the 4th century who believe their right is to dominate us, who don't believe in women's rights or free speech or freedom of religion or freedom at all. They want to protest America? What are you doing here? Send them home.; 3/7/25, 3:45 PM
Iman said...: Attention, lefties! Joe Rogan is passing along some free advice:

https://x.com/AutismCapital/status/1897766932914352450; 3/7/25, 3:58 PM
TeaBagHag said...: Tea bag?
a serious question for you:
should Jewish students at Columbia have free speech? - Yes
what about their right to assemble? - Yes
what about their right to go to classes that they've paid tuition for? - Yes
what living? tea bag, would YOU go so far, as to assert that Jewish students should be permitted to exist? - Yes That was really.... uh something?
Good job proctering that exam, Gilbar.; 3/7/25, 4:34 PM
Rocco said...: Steven said...
"...The point is, a very large fraction of people pursuing these studies at Columbia are Jewish. If those grants are cancelled, they will lose their funding. Along with other scientists, associated staff, and so forth, again many of whom are Jewish because it is in New York City, which has the largest fraction of Jewish people in the country."

So what you're saying is that right-handers will be disproportionately harmed. Only 87 out of 1000 New Yorkers are left-handed. As a Dexterous-American human, I am concerned that you are ignoring the potential disparate impact to some 306 million Americans, or 7.25 billion people worldwide.

Your logic is flawed. If we assume the university will refuse to provide proper security, and if we assume the university refuses to cover the loss of the grants from its endowments, then... If the grants are lost, 100% of the grantees and staff, Jewish and non-Jewish alike, will suffer harm. Not just the Jewish ones. The population, Jewish or otherwise, of NYC is immaterial.; 3/7/25, 4:40 PM
Skeptical Voter said...: Every now and then some of the arrogant little men (and women) at the top of universities needs a good hard whup up longside their head. It's necessary to get their attention.; 3/7/25, 5:35 PM
Jim at said...: what about their right to assemble? - Yes
what about their right to go to classes that they've paid tuition for? - Yes

Good. Then you should have no problem with what Trump's doing because their rights to assemble and attend classes are being restricted by your leftwing thugs.; 3/7/25, 5:37 PM
Drago said...: Jim at (to readering): "Good. Then you should have no problem with what Trump's doing because their rights to assemble and attend classes are being restricted by your leftwing thugs."

Good. Then you (readering) should have no problem with what Trump's doing because their rights to assemble and attend classes are being restricted by your beloved, Pro-islamic suprenacist terrorist leftwing thugs.

FIFY; 3/7/25, 6:06 PM
BUMBLE BEE said...: Twenty billion dollar endowment? Four hundred million is chump change.; 3/7/25, 6:47 PM
MaxedOutMama said...: Those who haven't read the Title VI lawsuit against Columbia should:
https://www.kasowitz.com/media/jjomnaqd/columbia-amended-complaint.pdf; 3/7/25, 7:42 PM
GRW3 said...: No matter what the progs think, violence is not speech. Assault, battery, destruction of property, violation of the civil right to peacefully assemble, etc, etc. Those things are not speech. Conversely, conservative or libertarian speech is not violence.; 3/7/25, 9:03 PM
Mr. T. said...: Readering said...
Columbia's president already resigned over criticism of her handling of the protests over mass civilian killings in Gaza. But the first amendment applies to protests, whatever the viewpoint. Trump shows he actually believes in viewpoint
discrimination.

The 1st Amendment does NOT apply to:

Heckler's Veto
Vandalism and Destruction of property.
Terrorism
Holding people hostage in campus buildings
Assaulting university employees.

I see you graduated from the Robert Cooke IHOP bathroom of Legalistic Lawyermalisming.; 3/7/25, 10:15 PM
Mica said...: Rocco: "Your logic is flawed....100% of the grantees and staff, Jewish and non-Jewish alike, will suffer harm. Not just the Jewish ones. The population, Jewish or otherwise, of NYC is immaterial."

True, but there is a parallel argument about Jewish disproportional participation in intellectual activities, that is, in being those who directly benefit from these grants. I am not sure whether that is the case for Columbia and not sure whether it is fruitful to go there (a strange consequence of this line of arguments is that, a true anti-semite, a Hamas-supporter would actually argue for a shutdown of government funding to Ivies).; 3/8/25, 6:42 AM
JAORE said...: Funny, I thought it was a right to peaceably assemble.; 3/8/25, 3:00 PM
Tina Trent said...: Why the fuck are we supporting a private university that takes many millons, if not billions, from Muslim dictatorships that enslave women and kill gays? Plus enough Soros cash to choke on? This is why their students are so miseducated. About everything. For almost fifty years now, while community and ag colleges in New York, where the new class of serfs come from, are underfunded.; 3/10/25, 5:57 AM
Tina Trent said...: It wasn't peaceful, you idiot. They destroyed property; disturbed the peace, attacked police; blockaded employees from safely doing their work, and terrorized and threarened people.

They need to be identified, arrested, convicted, fined for damage and lost office work hours, and expelled. All can be done without reverting to the ethnicity of their targets. We all matter equally before the law.; 3/10/25, 7:48 AM