NEW YORK—Late yesterday, officials from the General Services Administration, Department of Education, and Department of Health and Human Services sent a letter to Columbia University demanding radical changes to university policies involving student discipline and admissions, and calling on the university to place the school’s Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African Studies Department under “academic receivership.” The letter followed the Trump administration’s earlier decision to cut federal funding to the university and to arrest permanent resident and former Columbia graduate student Mahmoud Khalil, apparently for his participation in pro-Palestinian protests. 

The following can be attributed to Jameel Jaffer, executive director, Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University.

“The subjugation of universities to official power is a hallmark of autocracy. No one should be under any illusions about what’s going on here.” 

The following can be attributed to Alex Abdo, litigation director, Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University.

“This is an assault on the very foundation of higher education. With only very narrow exceptions, the First Amendment gives private universities the right to shape their own expressive environments, including by deciding what speech and debate to allow on their campuses. Institutions of higher education must speak with one voice in condemning this attack on their missions and values.”

For more information, contact: Adriana Lamirande, [email protected].