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Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
Columbia University students expelled: Action over anti-Israel protests; nearly 80 punished
. Columbia University said on Tuesday that it has punished several students for their role in anti-Israel protests held on campus in 2024. The actions include expulsions, suspensions, and even revoking degrees. While the university did not share exact numbers, a student group said nearly 80 students have been targeted. These punishments are linked to two specific protest events — a sit-in at the university library in May and a protest encampment during alumni weekend in spring. Columbia said the library protest disrupted hundreds of students during exam preparation time. Disciplinary measures included probation, suspensions lasting from one to three years, degree cancellations, and permanent expulsions. This crackdown comes as Colombia negotiates with the Trump administration to regain $400 million in federal funds that were cut. Trump has accused top universities like Columbia and Harvard of not doing enough to stop alleged anti-Semitism during protests against Israel's war in Gaza. Columbia, which was at the centre of last year's campus protests, has now agreed to introduce several policy reforms as part of the funding talks. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like American Investor Warren Buffett Recommends: 5 Books For Turning Your Life Around Blinkist: Warren Buffett's Reading List Undo Some students say these changes are giving in to political pressure. Meanwhile, Harvard is challenging the funding cuts in court. Columbia said this was the final set of disciplinary actions related to last spring's protests. The student group Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD), which supports cutting financial ties with Israel, said the punishments for the library protest were far harsher than those for past demonstrations. 'We will not be deterred,' the group said, adding that they remain committed to supporting Palestine.
News18
2 hours ago
- News18
"Totally Out Of Step" Trump Pulls US Out Of UNESCO, Cites DEI Policies, Pro-Palestine & China Tilt
Last Updated: July 23, 2025, 02:00 IST Crux Videos President Donald Trump is pulling the US out of UNESCO, citing anti-America and anti-Israel leanings, as well as UNESCO's woke agenda, as the reasons. Back in February, Trump had ordered a 90-day review of America's presence in UNESCO. He had demanded that special emphasis be put on investigating any 'anti-Semitism or anti-Israel sentiment within the organization.' Following the review, officials reportedly took issue with UNESCO's Diversity, Equity and Inclusion policies, and its pro-Palestinian and pro-China bias. n18oc_world n18oc_crux
The Hindu
2 hours ago
- The Hindu
Universities everywhere are in crisis
On July 21, a federal judge challenged the U.S. administration's reasons for slashing billions of dollars in federal funding to Harvard University. The funding threats and cuts reflect a larger worldwide trend of right-wing governments forcing higher education institutions with their ideological agendas. Across the world, universities, once imagined as havens of free inquiry, are now being transformed into sites of political control. Weaponised budgets This pressure is particularly evident in the U.S., where Ivy League universities have become the centre of a cultural conflict. Portraying these institutions as havens for 'anti-Americanism', Mr. Trump tightened visas for overseas students and threatened funding cuts to colleges that defied his definition of 'free speech'. The U.S. Supreme Court's 2023 ruling ending affirmative action in college admissions gave right-wing activists even more confidence and spurred calls for broad changes in admissions rules. While Columbia University was pushed into adopting a strict definition of antisemitism, a measure critics say silences legitimate debate about Israel and Palestine, the 2024 congressional campaign forced Harvard's president, Claudine Gay, to resign. Major donors withdrew millions in funding from institutions that resisted these pressures, leaving faculty fearful that discussions on race, gender, or foreign policy might provoke similar reprisals. The effects are felt globally. In Australia, using the nebulous concept of 'national interest', ministers have vetoed peer-reviewed humanities research proposals covering topics such as climate activism and Indigenous politics. Law faculties have faced criticism for deviating from 'black letter law' and incorporating decolonisation into their courses. Universities are also under pressure to pass anti-foreign interference audits to protect rich international student enrolment and engage in persuasive self-censorship on sensitive subjects, such as China, Palestine, and Australia's colonial past. In India, populist leaders see public universities as elitist strongholds. Police visit campuses to quell dissent; budgets are cut; and vice-chancellors replaced. Jawaharlal Nehru University, once a hub of open debate, now frequently faces the label of 'anti-national'. In 2023, the University Grants Commission mandated compulsory courses in 'Indian knowledge systems'; this is seen as advancing Hindu nationalist narratives. The South Asian University, established by SAARC as an international institution, pressured a faculty member to leave after his PhD student cited Noam Chomsky's criticism of the Modi government. From Budapest to Bahrain, the pattern is clear. Viktor Orbán forced Central European University out of Hungary. Turkey dismissed thousands of academics who supported a peace petition. Brazil and the Philippines drastically cut social sciences' funding, silencing studies on inequality. Gulf states impose tight restrictions on conversations about religion, gender, and labour rights. Independent research is now seen across continents as a threat to national security. Along with these direct attacks is a quieter but equally destructive force: the neoliberal makeover of higher education. Rankings, patent creation, and the pursuit of student 'employability' are transforming universities into corporate entities. People discount feminist studies, sociology, history and other subjects which explore power dynamics as unnecessary extravagances. Students become paying customers, faculty members turn into disposable service providers, and trustees prioritise brand management above intellectual exploration. The far right exploits this market-driven logic, portraying universities as taxpayer-funded breeding grounds for sedition, while simultaneously cutting public funding essential for maintaining intellectual diversity. Defending the commons According to the Academic Freedom Index, produced by V-Dem and partner organisations, academic freedom declined in 34 countries between 2014 and 2024, not only in autocracies but in democracies as well. Indicators measuring institutional autonomy, freedom of research, and campus integrity dropped to their lowest levels since the early 1980s. Every erosion of academic freedom limits society's ability to tackle pressing global challenges such as climate change, the impacts of AI, and democratic deterioration. Despite these challenges, hope remains. Networks of academics, students, and civil society groups around the world are resisting ideological pressure. Faculty groups and student coalitions in the U.S. actively promote inclusive education, which forces some colleges to rethink too rigid definitions of antisemitism. Legal collectives and independent academic platforms still guard areas for critical inquiry in India. However, survival alone is insufficient. Universities must recover their public agenda. Governing boards should shield hiring, promotions, and funding decisions from political interference. Donors must support uncomfortable inquiry rather than dictate it. Alumni can fund independent academic chairs or legal defence efforts. Faculty members must engage in university governance instead of leaving it to bureaucrats, while students should remember that campuses are democratic commons, not merely credential factories. If fear, profit motives, or majoritarian arrogance dictate what can be taught or expressed, we risk inheriting not just weakened universities but diminished democracies. Amrita Nambiar, Assistant Professor of Law, Vinayaka Mission's Law School, Vinayaka Mission's Research Foundation (DU); Amrithnath Sreedevi Babu, Sessional Academic and PhD candidate, Macquarie Law School, Macquarie University, Australia
