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What’s the newest? After canceling $400 million in federal grants for Columbia College final week, Trump officers despatched a letter demanding the varsity make sweeping modifications to its insurance policies and governance or threat shedding the remainder of its federal cash.
What are the calls for? Broadly, to punish protesters of Israel’s warfare in Gaza severely, with expulsions or years-long suspensions.
The letter, from Trump’s “Job Drive to Fight Anti-Semitism,” additionally calls for Columbia put the faculty president’s workplace instantly answerable for self-discipline, make a plan to carry scholar teams “accountable,” write new guidelines to forestall “disruption” of campus life by protests, take the Center Jap Research division away from its present management, and fully overhaul its admissions course of.
Is that this authorized? No, in response to Cornell legislation professor Michael Dorf. The federal authorities can lower off funding to punish civil rights violations, however solely after a prolonged course of. To this point, although, Columbia hasn’t challenged this in courtroom, hoping as a substitute to hunt a compromise — and maybe fearing a lawsuit would set off even worse retribution.
Why is that this taking place? Secretary of Schooling Linda McMahon has claimed that, for the reason that protests started, Jewish college students at Columbia “have confronted relentless violence, intimidation, and anti-Semitic harassment on their campuses” and that college officers’ purported inaction in defending them quantities to a violation of civil rights legislation. Critics argue, although, that this can be a blatant effort to make use of federal energy to relax criticism of Israel.
That is additionally half of a bigger Trump administration technique of utilizing federal funds as leverage towards universities they view as incubators of “woke” progressivism. Again in 2021, Senate candidate JD Vance stated it was time to “actually and aggressively assault the schools on this nation.” Extra just lately, activist Christopher Rufo known as for utilizing the cut-off of federal funds to place universities into “an existential terror” and higher “self-discipline” them.
And with that, it’s time to sign off…
Issues on Earth could also be messy, however have you ever seen the information that astronomers have found greater than 100 new moons round Saturn? Meaning Saturn now has 274 moons, placing it nicely forward of Jupiter (95) in our photo voltaic system’s moon energy rating.
