The American federal government’s battle with universities, motivated as it claims in part by concerns over campus anti-Semitism, took a new turn with the passing into law of the Big Beautiful Bill (BBB). One of the act’s provisions, little commented on in mainstream media, is that university endowments will lose their tax-exempt status. Forbes Magazine calculates that private universities will be the worst affected with the earnings on their endowments being taxed at up to 21%. This comes on top of Columbia and Harvard having large amounts of research funding cut.
In the meantime other aspects of this whole drama which predate the BBB continue to unfold. Harvard has received notification that it has been found to be in breach of Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act because it displayed indifference to an atmosphere of hostility towards Jews that had grown up on its campus. Columbia has been notified by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education which is ultimately responsible for its accreditation that the university is failing to meet the standards required of accredited institutes. Specifically it has failed to meet standard 2 which deals with ethics and integrity. Columbia has been given till 3 November to submit a report on steps it is taking to remedy the situation.
In fact Columbia’s reputation has taken a further hit. Leaked texts sent by the current acting President Claire Shipman (pictured above) shortly after the 7 October atrocities seem to show she did not take anti-Semitism seriously. She described concerns over anti-Semitism at Columbia as not entirely rational. She also tried to remove Shoshana Shendelman, a Jewish member of the board of trustees, one of the most outspoken critics on anti-Semitism. Shipman also described Shendelman as a “mole”. The House Committee on Education has asked Shipman to explain these texts.
Columbia is also being attacked from the opposite side. In an interview with the university’s student newspaper The Columbia Spectator, Mahmoud Khalil, a prominent anti-Israel activist at Columbia, accused the university of abandoning him to his fate. That was after he was arrested by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement .
It is noticeable that Columbia has taken no legal action against any of the measures the administration have taken against it. This is the opposite of what might have been expected given that it has traded on its reputation for radicalism and activism. It is also at odds with statements to the effect that President Trump’s actions against universities are an attack on democracy itself. If Columbia really believed that, it would be expected to do everything within its power to refute allegations of anti-Semitism and clear its name. The leaked texts referred to above are further evidence of just how bad things were at time of pogrom of 7 October 2023. They perhaps offer insight into why Columbia does not feel able to take a more overtly combative approach.
The American public does not seem to be rallying to the universities’ defence. The student newspaper at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), The Tech, sent reporters to some of the “no kings” protests against the Trump administration. Protesters mentioned many things but not his actions against universities. Interestingly the Times Higher Education Supplement has picked up on the lack of student demonstrations against the actions of the Trump administration. Angry opinion pieces continue to appear in university newspapers such as a piece entitled Yale promises lux et veritas (Light and Truth): but terms and conditions apply. Still it is hard to deny the relatively muted response from universities at all levels. That raises the question of why the public should come to their aid if they cannot even fight their own corner.
It looks as if the Trump administration’s battles with universities will soon move beyond private to public universities. The Department of Justice effectively forced the president of the University of Virginia to resign over his support for diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives by threatening to with hold research funding.
This all-out attack on universities puts Jewish and Israelis students and staff in a difficult position. It cannot be reasonably denied that it has taken the actions of the Trump administration to force universities to address campus anti-Semitism. At the same time success in the higher education sector has been key to the advancement of American Jews. The cuts to funding which have already taken place must have scuppered the career prospects of up-and-coming Jewish researchers and faculty. If the Trump administration’s actions hit American universities hard it could harm the prospects of American Jews.
There is no guarantee that investigations into anti-Semitism in American universities would last long should the Democrats win the next presidential election. In that event changes introduced as a result of the Trump administration’s pressure might quietly be undone.
Ideally attempts to tackle anti-Semitism at universities should be separated from national politics. It would be better if they were channelled through campus-specific initiatives designed to build an institutional culture free of anti-Semitism.
Guy Whitehouse is a member of the Academy of Ideas and the Free Speech Union. His views do not necessarily reflect those of those organisations.
The views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of the Radicalism of fools project.
PHOTO: "Claire Shipman 2021" by Columbia Alumni Association is licensed under CC BY 3.0.