Latest News from Campus

A Federal judge ruled that Jewish groups can pursue their lawsuit against the University of California, Berkeley, which alleges that the university tolerated persistent antisemitic harassment toward Jewish students and faculty. The plaintiffs claim university officials were deliberately indifferent to a hostile environment on campus. The judge allowed claims related to equal protection, free exercise of religion, and civil rights to move forward.

The White House is reviewing Harvard University’s federal funding, which includes $255.6 million in contracts and $8.7 billion in multi-year grants. Officials are assessing whether Harvard is complying with civil rights laws following reports of antisemitism on campus. Harvard President Alan Garber said funding cuts could affect research and innovation, and that the university would “take the measures that will move Harvard and its vital mission forward.”

Katrina Armstrong resigned as Columbia University’s interim president and will return to her previous position leading the university’s medical school. Her departure comes as the school responds to demands from the federal government to restore $400 million in grant funding and faces backlash over its handling of anti-Israel protests and antisemitic incidents. Columbia Board of Trustees Co-Chair Claire Shipman will serve as acting president.

The House of Representatives passed the “DETERRENT Act” (Defending Education Transparency and Ending Rogue Regimes Engaging in Nefarious Transactions Act), which mandates U.S. universities and colleges report foreign contributions of $50,000 or more. The bill focuses on increasing transparency with regard to foreign influence within higher education and will now move to the Senate for consideration.

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) announced the results of an investigation that uncovered a network of 30 Wikipedia editors – volunteer moderators for the popular information websites – who worked together to publish anti-Israel narratives and antisemitic content across the platform, in violation of the site’s policies. According to the ADL report, these editors contributed at twice the rate of typical users and communicated 18 times more frequently to manipulate articles.

The White House has extended Columbia University’s deadline to meet its demands regarding addressing campus antisemitism in order to restore $400 million in federal grant funding. The government’s demands for Columbia include banning masks at protests; increasing campus police authority; and placing the Middle East, South Asian, and African Studies department under external oversight.