Latest news with #antiDiscrimination
South China Morning Post
20 hours ago
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
Trump officials target Columbia University's accreditation over Gaza protests
The US Education Department said Columbia University no longer appeared to meet accreditation standards after concluding that the school is in violation of anti-discrimination laws, the latest effort by the Trump administration to target elite schools over their handling of pro-Palestinian protests. Advertisement US Education Secretary Linda McMahon said in a statement that the school's leadership 'acted with deliberate indifference towards the harassment of Jewish students on its campus' after the October 7 attack by Hamas on Israel. 'Accreditors have an enormous public responsibility as gatekeepers of federal student aid. They determine which institutions are eligible for federal student loans and Pell Grants. 'Just as the Department of Education has an obligation to uphold federal anti-discrimination law, university accreditors have an obligation to ensure member institutions abide by their standards,' she said. The Education Department said it had notified the Middle States Commission on Higher Education that the administration found that the school failed to meaningfully protect students during the protests, violating Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. Advertisement The department also cited federal law which they said required accreditors to notify member institutions if they were in noncompliance and establish a plan to bring them back into compliance.
Al Jazeera
a day ago
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Trump administration threatens Columbia University's accreditation
The United States Department of Education has notified Columbia University's accreditor that the Ivy League school allegedly broke federal anti-discrimination laws. In a statement on Wednesday, the Education Department's Office for Civil Rights (OCR) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) claimed that Columbia University had 'acted with deliberate indifference towards the harassment of Jewish students'. As a result, they said that Columbia violated the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits recipients of federal funding from discriminating on the basis of race, colour or national origin. 'Specifically, OCR and HHS OCR found that Columbia failed to meaningfully protect Jewish students against severe and pervasive harassment on Columbia's campus and consequently denied these students' equal access to educational opportunities to which they are entitled under the law,' the statement said. It quoted Secretary of Education Linda McMahon, who accused Columbia University of ignoring the ongoing harassment of Jewish students on its campus since Israel's war on Gaza began on October 7, 2023. 'This is not only immoral, but also unlawful,' McMahon said She added that the accreditor, the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, has 'an obligation to ensure member institutions abide by their standards'. The commission is one of seven regional bodies that reviews colleges, universities and other institutions of higher education to ensure they meet the standards needed to grant degrees. McMahon described accreditation institutions as the 'gatekeepers of federal student aid' and explained that they decide which schools are eligible for student loans. 'We look forward to the Commission keeping the Department fully informed of actions taken to ensure Columbia's compliance with accreditation standards including compliance with federal civil rights laws,' McMahon said. The statement specified that the Education Department and HHS had come to their determination about Columbia University's civil rights compliance on May 22. The Ivy League school had been an epicentre for pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel student protest movements, with some of the first student encampments cropping up on its lawn in April 2024. The university has remained in the news with arrests of high-profile student activists like Mahmoud Khalil in March and Mohsen Mahdawi in April. Mahdawi has since been released, though he, like Khalil, continues to face deportation proceedings. The administration of President Donald Trump has accused the demonstrators of creating unsafe conditions for Jewish students on campus, something the protest leaders have denied. It reiterated that allegation in Wednesday's statement, where it summed up the 'noncompliance findings' that allegedly show Columbia at odds with civil rights law. 'The findings carefully document the hostile environment Jewish students at Columbia University have had to endure for over 19 months, disrupting their education, safety, and well-being,' said Anthony Archeval, acting director of the Office for Civil Rights at HHS, in the statement. 'We encourage Columbia University to work with us to come to an agreement that reflects meaningful changes that will truly protect Jewish students.' The university did not immediately respond to a request by the Reuters news agency for comment. The Trump administration and Columbia University were in negotiations over $400m in federal funding for the New York-based Ivy League school. Columbia agreed to a series of demands from the administration in a bid to keep the funds flowing, but the US government has not confirmed whether it will restore the contracts and grants that it paused. In March, McMahon had said Columbia University was 'on the right track' toward recovering its federal funding.
The Guardian
a day ago
- General
- The Guardian
Trump officials intensify Columbia dispute with accreditation threat
The Department of Education announced on Wednesday afternoon that it has notified Columbia University's accreditor of a violation of federal anti-discrimination laws by the elite, private university in New York that is part of the Ivy League. The alleged violation means that Columbia, in the Trump administration's assessment, has 'failed to meet the standards' set by the relevant regional, government-recognized but independent body responsible for the accreditation of degree-granting institutions, as a kind of educational quality controller. In this case the accreditor is the Middle States Commission on Higher Education. Accreditors determine which institutions are eligible for federal student loans and various federal grants. The university did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The notice marks the latest escalation in the Trump administration's bid to dictate to Columbia after accusing the college of failing to protect students from antisemitic harassment. It follows the cancellation of $400m in federal grants and contracts, after which the university yielded to a series of changes demanded by the administration, including setting up a new disciplinary committee, initiating investigations into students critical of Israel's war in Gaza, and ceding control of its Middle East Studies department. Columbia was at the forefront of student encampment protests last spring, with more direct action protests erupting in recent weeks and jeers at leadership at commencement ceremonies last month, and has cycled through a series of university presidents in the past 18 months. More details soon … Reuters contributed reporting
Reuters
a day ago
- General
- Reuters
Columbia failed to meet accreditation standards, US government says
WASHINGTON, June 4 (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Education said on Wednesday it has notified a university accreditation body that Columbia University had violated federal anti-discrimination laws by its alleged failure to protect Jewish students on its campus. The violation means that Columbia has not met the standards of accreditation set by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, the department said. "Accreditors have an enormous public responsibility as gatekeepers of federal student aid. They determine which institutions are eligible for federal student loans and Pell Grants," U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon said in a statement. The university did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Columbia has been the epicenter of a pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel student protest movement that roiled U.S. campuses over the last year and a half as Israel's war in Gaza raged. The Department of Education and the Department of Health and Human Services said last month that an investigation found that the university had acted with "deliberate indifference" towards the harassment of Jewish students during campus protests.
Bloomberg
a day ago
- General
- Bloomberg
White House Threatens Columbia's Accreditation Over Protests
The Education Department said Columbia University no longer appeared to meet accreditation standards after concluding that the school is in violation of anti-discrimination laws, the latest effort by the Trump administration to target elite schools over their handling of pro-Palestinian protests. Education Secretary Linda McMahon said in a statement that the school's leadership 'acted with deliberate indifference towards the harassment of Jewish students on its campus' after the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas on Israel.
