Trump vs Columbia University: A Clash Over Academic Freedom

The Trump administration has demanded Columbia University place its Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African Studies Department under academic receivership as part of conditions to receive federal funding. The action is viewed as an attack on academic freedom, causing significant alarm across the higher education sector.

The Trump administration has made an unprecedented move by instructing Columbia University to place its Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African Studies Department under 'academic receivership'. This directive is seen as a direct assault on academic freedom and a harbinger of potential federal overreach into other collegiate institutions.

The order, which came with conditions attached to federal funding, has shocked academia. It follows a pull of USD 400 million from Columbia over antisemitism allegations. Critics view this as an alarming escalation beyond any seen during the McCarthy era in the United States.

Columbia's leadership and faculty, as well as critics from various academic and free-speech groups, have expressed concern over this governmental control. As tensions heighten, Columbia and other college leaders across the nation view this federal intrusion as a challenge to institutional autonomy and a violation of First Amendment rights.

(With inputs from agencies.)