Universities Capitulate to Trump Administration’s Demands—But at What Cost?

Educational institutions have long been the sites of social movements and resistance. It is at these institutions that students have applied the knowledge they gained in the classroom to address broader injustices across the country and the world. For instance, the Palestine solidarity protests that ignited at these institutions sent ripples across the country and ignited the ire of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Unsurprisingly, largely because of these actions, colleges and universities have also become a target of the Donald Trump administration.

From revoking federal funding to subjecting syllabi to FOIA requests, the Trump administration has wielded its power against universities to force compliance with its demands. In some cases, the administration has been unsuccessful; in others, it has effectively forced institutions to capitulate.

The Universities That Have Capitulated

Already, some universities have agreed to pay hundreds of millions of dollars to settle unfounded antisemitism claims. They have also reached settlements that will force them to comply with major restrictions and a loss of their institutional autonomy. So far, three Ivy League universities—the University of Pennsylvania, Brown University, and Columbia University—have reached such deals with the Trump administration that may save money in the short term but will further marginalize vulnerable student groups in the long term.

“That Columbia folded, and sacrificed its integrity, reputation and the freedom of its students and faculty for the federal money, speaks to both the astounding lack of foresight and principle by the university leadership…”

In July, the University of Pennsylvania reached a deal with the Trump administration that retroactively revoked records and titles from the first trans athlete to win an NCAA Division 1 title, Lia Thomas. The university also barred transgender athletes from competing according to their gender identity. Though the university took this action to avoid losing $175 million in federal funds, it also showed how quickly it could ostracize its transgender students.

More recently, in exchange for having its federal research funding reinstated, Columbia University agreed to pay more than $220 million to settle antisemitism allegations, including an employment discrimination claim that could potentially qualify any Jewish employee who has reported experiencing antisemitism to receive a payout. In exchange for having its funding reinstated, the university also struck a deal that gives a Trump-approved official the right to review the university’s admissions records to ensure that it does not engage in affirmative action. This new deal is in addition to a previous agreement struck in March that subjected the Middle Eastern studies department to monitoring.

“That Columbia folded, and sacrificed its integrity, reputation and the freedom of its students and faculty for the federal money, speaks to both the astounding lack of foresight and principle by the university leadership as well as the Trump movement’s successful foreclosure of institutions’ options for resistance,” read a recent The Guardian article.

The article suggests that the Trump administration will likely draw on its experience at Columbia to guide similar payouts from other institutions.

Shortly after Columbia’s announcement, Brown University shared that it had agreed to pay $50 million to Rhode Island workforce development organizations to have its federal research funding restored. The deal also calls for the federal government to reimburse the university for $50 million in unpaid federal grant costs. In striking the deal, the university agreed to remove any consideration of race from the admissions process, ban transgender students from women’s sports, and adopt the Trump administration’s definition of “male” and “female.”

“We hope other universities and educational institutions will stand strong against the administration’s bullying and coercion to protect the core values of the pursuit and protection of knowledge and understanding, academic freedom, freedom of expression, and openness to a range of different perspectives and experiences.”

“Functionally, transgender people, anytime they now want to use a single-sex facility on campus, there’s now this risk involved not just for themselves, but for the university as a whole,” said a student, noting that the clause apples the definition to everything including sports, dorms, restrooms, locker rooms, and other intimate spaces.

The student, who has been medically transitioning for more than a decade, said they no longer feel comfortable using single-sex facilities on campus for fear that it will open themselves and their peers up to repercussions. They also said that they believe the university’s public statement on the settlement minimized its implications.

In reaction to Brown University’s announcement of the settlement, ACLU of RI, GLAD Law, and RI Center for Justice issued a statement of solidarity:

“We stand with all students, faculty, and staff who feel hurt, disrespected and fearful following the announcement of this agreement. It is shocking that an institution that has long welcomed, celebrated, and protected LGBTQ+ people on campus would so quickly cave in to the administration’s cruel and coercive agenda.”

The statement ended with a call to action by the organizations: “We hope other universities and educational institutions will stand strong against the administration’s bullying and coercion to protect the core values of the pursuit and protection of knowledge and understanding, academic freedom, freedom of expression, and openness to a range of different perspectives and experiences.”

The Importance of Fighting Back

Last week, The New York Times reported that the Trump administration wants the University of California pay a $1 billion fine to settle accusation of antisemitism and restore its grant funding. The university has expressed no intention of paying this settlement.

“As a public university, we are stewards of taxpayer resources and a payment of this scale would completely devastate our country’s greatest public university system as well as inflict great harm on our students and all Californians,” said James Milliken, who became president of the university earlier this year.

Calling the proposal an extortion, Governor Gavin Newsom asserted that the state will go to court to fight to protect the university.

Meanwhile,  Harvard University—the first university to indicate that it would fight the Trump administration’s federal funding cuts in court—has yet to settle with the Trump administration. Harvard University President Alan Garber has asserted that the university is not considering a $500 million settlement with the Trump administration, despite recent reporting by The New York Times.

Still, as a Harvard Crimson article points out, the university has capitulated to Trump in other ways, including by dismantling its diversity offices and cutting institutional ties to a Palestinian university. Further, the university has suspended its Religion, Conflict, and Peace Initiative and effectively pushed out leaders at its Center for Middle Eastern Studies.

As an increasing number of institutions concede to the demands of the Trump administration, it is creating a domino effect that will particularly impact institutions with far fewer resources. The Guardian points out that the House is reportedly negotiating with several other universities, and about 60 institutions are under investigation over antisemitism accusations, several of which have already had their funding threatened.

This is precisely why advocates say it is increasingly important that institutions, especially those with resources to fight, don’t cave into Trump’s demands so quickly.

“When one university capitulates to Trump’s hostage-taking strategies, it puts pressure on all institutions because it confirms that this strategy works,” said Issac Kamola, a professor at Trinity College who studies conservative efforts to undermine higher education, in an interview with The Guardian. “Every institution is now at risk.”