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CNN
5 days ago
- Politics
- CNN
Trump administration still hopeful about a Harvard deal after Columbia reaches settlement
The Trump administration is still optimistic about the possibility of reaching a deal with Harvard University after it announced a $200 million settlement with Columbia University on Wednesday. 'While there's a lawsuit pending with Harvard, and I'm sure that lawsuit will play out, I do hope that Harvard will continue to come to the table with negotiations. Those talks are continuing, and we'd like to have a resolution there, outside of the courts,' Education Secretary Linda McMahon said in a phone interview with CNN on Thursday. Harvard faced off with the Trump administration in court on Monday, arguing that the administration's $2 billion freeze in federal funding for research was in violation of the school's First Amendment rights. The case has become a flashpoint in a major clash over academic freedom, campus oversight and federal funding. The judge has not made a final ruling in the case, but Harvard has asked for a decision to be made no later than September 3, when it says some of the funding cuts could become more permanent. McMahon pointed to some recent actions taken by Harvard as positive steps, including the departure of the heads of the Middle Eastern Studies center. She described the current state of talks with the university as 'ongoing' but declined to provide additional details. She also declined to provide information about the scale of any settlement the administration hopes to achieve with Harvard, which has a larger endowment than Columbia. In a statement shortly after the Columbia deal was announced, McMahon described the move as a 'seismic shift' for higher education that could serve as a 'roadmap' for other schools. She said that 'other universities are already looking at' the template provided by the Columbia agreement. 'Colleges and universities are understanding at this particular point that they have some issues they need to address, and I think that they are coming to the table to do that,' she said. McMahon added that there are 'other investigations that are going on' and that the Trump administration has sent letters to some other universities 'letting them know that we are investigating … but I would prefer that we will not go public with those right now.'
Time of India
13-07-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Why Columbia opted to settle with the Trump administration in a high-stakes civil rights case
Columbia to recover $400m in US research funds after civil rights dispute settlement Columbia University is nearing a settlement with the Trump administration that may result in the university paying approximately $200 million to resolve civil rights violation claims. The case centres on allegations that Columbia failed to protect Jewish students from harassment, particularly following tensions that arose during the Israel-Hamas conflict. In addition to the financial settlement, the agreement could see the restoration of around $400 million in federal research funding that had previously been revoked by the Trump administration. Columbia officials are expected to meet White House representatives next week to finalise the terms. Allegations and impact on funding The civil rights complaint against Columbia University accused the institution of not adequately addressing the harassment of Jewish students. As a consequence, on March 7, the Trump administration revoked millions in federal research grants. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) froze nearly all research-related funding to Columbia, including active grant reimbursements. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Zunido no ouvido? Imploro as brasileiras que usem este truque. Receita Anti-Zumbido Undo Grant Watch, a research tracking body, estimated that roughly $1.18 billion in NIH funding had either been suspended or withdrawn. Other federal bodies, including the National Science Foundation, also ceased funding, significantly affecting Columbia's research operations. The university became one of several institutions targeted, alongside Harvard University, Cornell University, and Northwestern University. Preconditions and shift in negotiations In March, following the initial suspension of funds, Columbia agreed to several conditions set by the Trump administration. These included giving campus police authority to arrest students, limiting the use of face coverings during protests, and imposing stricter oversight on the Middle Eastern Studies department. These measures allowed further negotiations on the potential restoration of funding to proceed. Earlier proposals included placing Columbia under long-term federal supervision through a legally binding agreement. However, current negotiations reportedly exclude that requirement. Internal and external responses Columbia's decision to pursue a settlement rather than challenge the federal government in court has drawn criticism within academic circles, where it has been labelled as a form of capitulation. In contrast, Harvard University chose to sue the Trump administration over similar penalties but has recently restarted negotiations to recover its lost funding. Claire Shipman, Columbia's acting president, defended the decision to negotiate. In a letter addressed to the university community in June, she stated that "Following the law and attempting to resolve a complaint is not capitulation." If finalised, Columbia would become the first university to reach a formal settlement with the Trump administration over antisemitism-related allegations that resulted in the loss of federal research funds. The outcome of this case could influence how other academic institutions respond to future federal actions tied to campus conduct and civil rights compliance. TOI Education is on WhatsApp now. Follow us here . Ready to navigate global policies? Secure your overseas future. Get expert guidance now!
Time of India
13-07-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Columbia University may agree to $200m settlement; Trump administration demands reforms
Columbia University (File Photo) Columbia University and the Trump administration on Friday are reportedly close to reaching a settlement that could see the university paying around $200 million or more in compensation for alleged civil rights violations. The deal, reported by the New York Times, centres on allegations that Columbia failed to protect Jewish students from harassment. The agreement also seeks to restore around $400 million in federal research funding that the Trump administration had previously revoked. In return, Columbia would resolve civil rights violation claims and agree to greater transparency in areas such as admissions and foreign donations. University officials are expected to meet with Trump administration representatives at the White House next week to finalise the agreement. In April, earlier proposals included a legally binding agreement that would have put the university under long-term federal supervision. However, current negotiations reportedly no longer include that requirement. In March, after the initial funding cuts, Columbia accepted several demands from the Trump administration. 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 This included granting campus police authority to arrest students, restricting the use of masks at protests and exerting more control over its Middle Eastern Studies department. Once these preconditions were met, further negotiations can continue regarding the reinstatement of research funding. Columbia's decision to negotiate rather than challenge the administration in court was widely criticized within academia as a form of capitulation. In contrast, Harvard University chose to sue the government. Claire Shipman, Columbia's acting president, defended the university's approach. In a letter to the university community in June, she stated, 'Following the law and attempting to resolve a complaint is not capitulation.' Meanwhile, Harvard University has also restarted talks with the Trump administration regarding the return of billions of dollars in federal research funding that have been cut. If finalised, Columbia would become the first university to reach a formal settlement with the Trump administration over antisemitism-related concerns that led to the withdrawal of federal research funds. On March 7, the Trump administration announced it was revoking millions in federal grants to Columbia due to alleged harassment of Jewish students following the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war. Other institutions, including Harvard, Cornell and Northwestern, also faced similar penalties. Columbia's research programmes were heavily affected with funding cuts. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) froze nearly all research-related funding, including reimbursements for active grants. Grant Watch, a research tracking group, estimated that around $1.18 billion in NIH funding to Columbia had either been suspended or withdrawn. Other federal agencies including the National Science Foundation, also pulled funding.
Indian Express
12-07-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
Columbia and Trump near a deal, with school possibly paying millions
Columbia University and the Trump administration on Friday were nearing a deal in the contentious fight over allegations that the school had failed to protect Jewish students from harassment, with Columbia potentially agreeing to pay hundreds of millions of dollars to settle the matter, according to two people familiar with the discussions. The deal, which remains in draft form, would restore at least some of the $400 million in federal research funding the administration canceled. In exchange, Columbia would provide compensation to settle allegations of civil rights violations and increase transparency about admissions and foreign gifts, among other concessions. The existence of a potential deal was confirmed by a third person, who, like the others, spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe sensitive negotiations. The deal could include $200 million or more in compensation paid by Columbia for alleged civil rights violations. Columbia officials are expected to meet with Trump aides next week at the White House to finalize the deal, said one of the people familiar with the discussions. A university spokesperson on Friday night did not confirm details of the deal or the potential White House meeting. 'The university is focused on advancing the discussions with the federal government. There is no resolution at this time,' the spokesperson, Virginia Lam Abrams, said. The current draft of the deal, which was first reported by The Wall Street Journal and The Free Beacon, does not go as far in exerting federal authority over the university as an earlier version that was circulated in April. That deal would have included a judge-approved consent decree, which is a kind of legally binding performance-improvement plan, according to a copy of that agreement obtained by The New York Times. A consent decree, which would have given the Trump administration significant control over the university for years to come, is not part of the current discussions, the people said. In March, after the $400 million in funding was cut, Columbia agreed to an initial set of demands from the Trump administration, including empowering campus police to arrest students, exerting more control over its Middle Eastern Studies department and restricting the use of masks at protests. Once those preconditions were met, Columbia continued negotiating over the return of the federal funding. Columbia's decision to negotiate with the Trump administration rather than sue was widely criticized within academia as a form of capitulation. Harvard University took a different approach, choosing to sue. Claire Shipman, Columbia's acting president, has defended her strategy, writing in a letter to the university community in June: 'Following the law and attempting to resolve a complaint is not capitulation.' And Harvard, despite its litigation, has also restarted talks with the Trump administration regarding the return of billions of dollars in federal research funding that have been cut. While the exact terms of Columbia's agreement are still being negotiated, it could be the first university to come to a resolution with the Trump administration for the return of research funding pulled as a result of antisemitism concerns. The Trump administration announced March 7 that it was canceling millions of dollars in grants and contracts to Columbia, an extraordinary step that made the university the first to be punished by the administration for what it called unacceptable harassment of Jewish students on campus after the start of the Israel-Hamas war. Punishment for other universities, including Harvard, Cornell and Northwestern, soon followed. As weeks passed, it became evident that the damage to Columbia's research enterprise went further than the original cut. The National Institutes of Health, the government's premier medical research funder, froze nearly all research funding flowing to Columbia, including for reimbursement of grants that were still active. Grant Watch, a project run by research scientists who compiled information on the grants pulled by the Trump administration, estimated this week that about $1.18 billion in unspent funding to Columbia from the NIH had been terminated or frozen. Other federal agencies, including the National Science Foundation, also pulled grants. Columbia was reaching a 'tipping point' of preserving its research excellence, Shipman said in June. Columbia's board met last Sunday to discuss potential terms of a deal, one of the people familiar with the matter said. The negotiations with Columbia have been directed out of the White House by a team led by a Trump adviser, Stephen Miller, with additional involvement of an interagency task force on antisemitism.
Scoop
10-07-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
Yousef Aljamal. The War On Memory, And Writing Through A Genocide.
Sitting opposite me in my black leather captain's chair, looking more like a bouncer than a writer, was Yousef Aljamal, co-author of Displaced in Gaza – stories from the Gaza Genocide. His eyes had the strangest mix of distance, sadness, humour and intelligence. I asked my first question. He just looked at me. He said nothing. I know his writing; he is a fine writer. That's what I asked about first: 'I see writing as fighting. Is that how you see it?' After an awkward pause (I think he was assessing me), he said: 'I see writing as an act of resistance, because in times of oppression and injustice, writing is a means of fighting back and resisting, but also documenting and remembering and healing.' The war on memory Yousef, a Palestinian refugee from Gaza, currently living in Turkey, is Coordinator at the Palestine Activism Program at the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC). He holds a doctorate in Middle Eastern Studies. In 2023 Israel targeted and killed his friend and mentor Refaat Alareer, one of the great storytellers of Palestine (which is precisely why he was targeted). With Israel having killed more writers and journalists than any regime in history, Yousef has a vital role to play. 'When there is a war on our memory, writing and documenting is the way to keep the memory alive. There are many stories that have been lost throughout history because they have not been documented. I've seen this in the Maori history in this country. So it's very important that we keep the memory alive and we document the stories of people on the ground in Palestine who have been subjected to Nakba all the way to today, where a genocide is unfolding in Gaza.' Yousef personalises the most terrible word in the world I have never interviewed anyone who has lost so many friends, colleagues and family. It made visceral for me that word we hear a lot these days: genocide. It was a tough thing to sit and listen to – but Yousef delivered his message with genuine thoughtfulness. 'I just want people to imagine the magnitude of the genocide in Gaza by giving two examples. One: I have lost a total of 40 members of my family. Forty. Killed in Gaza. Two: starvation. I want you to imagine starvation. There are no aid distribution centres left in Gaza, there are kill zones. They are killing Palestinians while they are lining up to receive aid. 'There is no cash in Gaza and everything is crazy expensive. A sack of flour, we're talking about 25 kg of flour, costs $1,000 US dollars. So there is this level of desperation while thousands of aid trucks are at the border but not allowed to enter Gaza. Israel has redefined savagery and brutality.' Writing and the battle for truth We in the West have lived for decades with a crushing anti-Palestinian narrative, a fictionalising of what is really happening in Palestine. Yousef sees his writer's work as providing a truth serum. 'The US-Israeli storytelling was preparation for genocide. They had many plans over the years: they always wanted Gaza without Gazans. The propaganda that followed October 7 against the Palestinian people was unprecedented, and it was so scary because I knew that this language and this discourse used to describe Palestinians as human animals and to say that there should be no water, no fuel and no food for the Palestinian people in Gaza, that this language would definitely lead to a massacre and bloodshed and genocide in Gaza. And it happened.' Bringing Palestinian voices to New Zealand Sitting on my couch listening to the interview are human rights activists Don Carson, Donna McKenna and John Minto. John led the famous 1981 anti-South African Springbok rugby tour campaign that brought New Zealand to civil strife but ultimately led to the long overdue ending of New Zealand's alignment with the racist apartheid regime. Decades later John is working alongside Maher Nazzal as co-chair of Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa. PSNA have funded Yousef's tour and hosted him. 'We see our role in PSNA as bringing Palestinian voices to the fore,' John says. 'There is a wall of silence with our mainstream media. So the tour is part of addressing that – bringing Palestinian narratives to New Zealanders. There's been this real sea change which has happened over the last 18 months where so many people's eyes have been opened to the reality of what Israel is and its blind race hatred of Palestinians.' Don Carson, an old colleague of mine from our Radio New Zealand days, chips in: 'The fundamental thing is that Yousef speaks with a personal knowledge of what life is like in Gaza and the connections of people and family in Gaza. Yousef also has a unique understanding of the New Zealand environment because of his long-established contacts in this country.' Yousef visited 10 centres, including Whangarei, Whanganui, Katikati, Tamaki Makaurau, New Plymouth, Tauranga, Thames, Hamilton, Christchurch and Wellington. The New Zealand 'Street' is with Palestine 'I met with the Green caucus and the Labour caucus, and I met with Te Pāti Māori MPs – people from different political parties of the opposition,' Yousef says. 'who expressed absolute support for the Palestinian people in their struggle. We're navigating ways to materialize this support and this solidarity into actions that will hopefully contribute to changing the injustice taking place in Palestine. The solidarity was overwhelming, and I hope to see a real translation of this solidarity into concrete actions very soon. 'Change is slow, and building a movement takes time but the people – the New Zealand streets – are with us.' If I must die I'll give the last word not to Yousef but to another writer, his great friend, the poet Refaat Alareer whose poem If I Must Die has become a monument to resistance to the US-Israeli genocide. He wrote it to his daughter – about his kite – and released it the month before he was assassinated by an Israeli missile strike. If I must die, you must live to tell my story to sell my things to buy a piece of cloth and some strings, (make it white with a long tail) so that a child, somewhere in Gaza while looking heaven in the eye awaiting his dad who left in a blaze – and bid no one farewell not even to his flesh not even to himself – sees the kite, my kite you made, flying up above and thinks for a moment an angel is there bringing back love If I must die let it bring hope let it be a tale. Rest in peace, Refaat. Arohanui. Thank you so much Yousef Aljamal and the great people of Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa. Eugene Doyle Eugene Doyle is a writer based in Wellington. He has written extensively on the Middle East, as well as peace and security issues in the Asia Pacific region. He hosts the public policy platform
