Columbia Taking Tougher Stance After Harvard's Defiance on Trump

Harvard University's refusal to comply with the demands of the Trump administration appears to have toughened the stance being taken by Columbia University, with acting President Claire Shipman pledging not to allow the government to "require us to relinquish our independence and autonomy."

Shipman said in a letter Monday that she read a strongly worded note from Harvard President Alan Garber "with great interest," leading her to say that Columbia will "reject heavy-handed orchestration from the government that could potentially damage our institution and undermine useful reforms," reports The New York Times Tuesday.

She added that any agreement where federal officials dictate "what we teach, research, or who we hire" will not be acceptable. 

Harvard on Monday became the first university refusing to comply with the demands of the administration, leading federal officials to freeze $2.2 billion in multiyear grants to the Ivy League school.

Columbia has come under fire from critics who accuse it of appeasing the Trump administration and avoiding its campaign against the nation's universities. 

Shipman in March said the university was facing a "precarious moment" but didn't mention the cancellation of about $400 million in contracts and grants to the New York school, which came under fire for its response to pro-Palestinian protests and has been accused of permitting antisemitism. 

Shipman's predecessor, Katrina Armstrong, revealed an agreement that included major government demands, including creating a security force that was permitted to make arrests and placing Columbia's Middle Eastern studies department under an oversight plan. 

Shipman, in her statement, said that "good faith discussions" continue with a federal  antisemitism task force, but she said that she's following the administration's actions with "great concern."

She also directed foreign students to a new needs-based hardship fund that has been formed. 

The Trump administration has discussed enforcing a consent decree, with a federal judge to enforce any agreement reached with Columbia.

Shipman didn't address that possibility, but she did agree that some of the government's requests do align with "policies and practices that we believe are important to advancing our mission."

But other ideas, including about how to address diversity issues and conducting the presidential search process, "are not subject to negotiation," she said. 

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