White House touts Columbia deal, critics see dangerous precedent

July 25, 2025 2:04 PM

White House touts Columbia deal, critics see dangerous precedent

Columbia University's agreement to pay more than $220 million to the U.S. government to resolve federal probes was not capitulation but a means to restore vital public funding, the university's acting president said on Thursday. But critics expressed concern about a harmful precedent in what they see as President Donald Trump's push for greater control over elite U.S. colleges. Trump has targeted Columbia and other universities over the pro-Palestinian student protest movement that roiled coll...

After Harvard rejects US demands, Trump adds new threat

April 16, 2025 10:13 AM

After Harvard rejects US demands, Trump adds new threat

U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to strip Harvard of its tax-exempt status on Tuesday and said the university should apologize, a day after it rejected what it called unlawful demands to overhaul academic programs or lose federal grants. Beginning with Columbia University, the Trump administration has rebuked universities across the country over their handling of the pro-Palestinian student protest movement that roiled campuses last year following the 2023 Hamas-led attack inside Israel a...

Police arrest dozens of pro-Palestinian protesters in Columbia University raid

May 1, 2024 5:37 PM

Police arrest dozens of pro-Palestinian protesters in Columbia University raid

New York City police raided Columbia University late on Tuesday to arrest dozens of pro-Palestinian demonstrators, some of whom had seized an academic building, and to remove a protest encampment the Ivy League school had sought to dismantle for nearly two weeks. Shortly after police moved in, Columbia University President Minouche Shafik released a letter in which she requested police stay on campus until at least May 17 - two days after graduation - "to maintain order and ensure that encampme...