Two teams representing Columbia University’s faculty and staff sued more than $400 million in federal funding cuts Tuesday and demanded a radical change in student discipline and admissions policies in schools.
The plaintiff, the American Association of University Professors and the American Federation of Teachers demanded that the Manhattan federal court restore funds and believed that the cuts were unconstitutional.
The two groups and protect the nonprofit democracy that represents them, he said in a press release that cuts to funding and accompanying letters requesting changes to Colombia's policy violated the First Amendment. The Trump administration’s actions “had an unstable and profound cold impact on university campuses nationwide,” the statement said.
AAUP president Todd Wolfson said in a statement that the cuts to fund are part of a larger effort to free speech on campus, which will have consequences outside Colombia.
“The threat and coercion of the Trump administration in Colombia is part of a clear authoritarian script designed to crush academic freedom and critical research in American higher education,” Wolfson said.
The group said the cuts in funding hurt important scientific and public health research, which helped “the prosperity of all Americans.” The cuts effectively terminated many projects, including studying early cancer testing, the impact of COVID-19 on pregnancy, and the link between diabetes and dementia.
The lawsuit is called the defendants several federal agencies and officials, including the Department of Justice, the Department of Education and the Department of Health and Human Services. The complaint said the funding cuts “a gun representing the survival of the university”.
Columbia commissioned several requests from the Trump administration on Friday, pledging the university to overhaul its campus security protocols, protest policy and the Department of Middle East Studies.
The federal government has not agreed to restore Colombia's funding. Federal Acquisitions Commissioner Josh Gruenbaum, one of the institutions calling for change in universities, said policy changes in Colombia were “early steps” and “positive signs.”
Several agencies mentioned in the lawsuit did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Tuesday. Two of them, spokespersons for the General Services Administration and the Justice Department, declined to comment.
Many Colombian professors oppose the Trump administration’s efforts to punish universities and some students for pro-Palestinian protests. At least 50 faculty members gathered outside the university gate on Monday to protest cuts and the school’s response. Some signs of claiming “protecting academic freedom” and “fighting in Colombia”.
Reinhold Martin, the chairman of the Columbia AAUP chapter and professor of architecture, said in a joint statement that faculty and staff have a responsibility to speak.
“The integrity of the civic discourse and the freedom that forms the foundation of democratic society is under attack,” Martin said. “We must stand up.”
The Trump administration faces a series of lawsuits challenging the budget to freeze across the federal government. However, according to Orion Danjuma, a lawyer who protects democracy, the controversial actions in the lawsuit differed because the government’s letter to the university stated “ransom notes” that demanded “a key change in how it works.”
Mr Danjuma added that he was not aware of other circumstances where the government canceled the grants to force policy changes to private institutions.
“It's brand new and the damage is very serious,” he said.
The lawsuit also argued that the government violated Chapter 6, part of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, prohibiting discrimination in institutions that receive federal funds. The government has defended the Chapter Six decision for its decision to cut Colombia’s funds, but the lawsuit argues that the government failed to comply with certain requirements of Chapter Six.
The lawsuit asserted that some steps the administration failed to follow include holding a hearing, providing evidence and giving universities the opportunity to voluntarily comply with the White House’s requirements. The groups stated in their statement that the requirements were intended to “prevent the government from exercising excessive unrestrained control over the recipients of funds.”
The government has begun reviewing dozens of other universities. Last week, the White House announced it would suspend $175 million in federal funding to the University of Pennsylvania due to the school's policy on sports participation in transgender students.
“They essentially say – with Glee said they plan to go bankrupt many other universities, and they think it's their preferred view,” Dangema said. “So we know that this is not the purpose, and it's the beginning of a broader attack on civil society and higher education.”
