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The American university teachers and teachers continue the Donald Trump administration for his efforts to revise the governance of Columbia University with threats to withdraw federal funding from the Ivy League institution.
The American Association of University Professors and the American Federation of Teachers launched a legal action against those responsible and the departments of justice, education, health and social services, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the General Services Administration after $ 400 million in Columbia funding were reduced earlier this month.
The judicial challenge follows the decision of Columbia last week to give in to numerous requests from the government to revise the governance of teachers and the discipline of students, which triggered demonstrations and a general concern concerning threats to academic freedom and freedom of expression in American educational establishments.
Todd Wolfson, president of AAUP, said: “Threats and coercion of the Trump administration in Columbia are part of an authoritarian game book clearly intended to crush academic freedom and critical research in American higher education.”
The trial alleys that without regular procedure, “the Trump administration forces Columbia University to auction and regulate speech and expression on campus by holding billions of dollars in federal funding authorized by Congress – responsible funding for the position of the American university system as a world leader in scientific, medical and technological research and which is crucial to ensure that it remains”.
The dispute occurs after other legal challenges in recent weeks in recent weeks in the administration of federal subsidies to universities related to diversity, inclusion actions and initiatives, and its reduction in indirect costs funded by the NIH on 15%medical research, in a decision which is estimated to reduce the support of $ 4 billion across the country.
The government accused Columbia earlier this month of not preventing anti-Semitism on the campus and warned that future federal funding would be compromised unless it quickly implements rapid reforms.
Similar to other universities, the teachers criticized Columbia leadership for refusing to express themselves or criticizing the actions of the administration, in what was considered by some as a tactic to avoid additional targeting. He also tried to discourage the filing of the AAUP trial.
However, Columbia concessions have not made the government reverse its reduction of $ 400 million.
In a letter Monday, Josh Gruenbaum, member of the new administration working group to fight anti -Semitism, said: “The first stages of Columbia are a positive sign, but they must continue to show that they are serious in their resolution to end anti -Semitism and protect all students and teachers on their campus.”
He also warned that “the other universities which are under investigation by the working group should expect the same level of control and the speed of action if they do not act to protect their students and stop anti -Semitic behavior on the campus”.
The Ministry of Justice continues 10 universities for alleged failures to slow anti -Semitism on campuses, while 60 are the subject of a survey by the civil rights office of the Department of Education.
In a sign of a greater potential escalation, the University of Pennsylvania said it had been informed of the administration’s efforts to withdraw $ 175 million in funding linked to the failure to prevent the participation of transgender students in women’s sports, although it has not yet received formal notification.
Columbia University refused to comment.
