For too long, America’s universities – once proud bastions of open inquiry and academic excellence – have become breeding grounds for radicalism, intimidation, and antisemitism. Since October 7, that dangerous trend has turned into an all-out moral collapse.
The Trump administration’s plan to condition federal funding on sweeping reforms at Columbia, Harvard, and other elite institutions is not only justified – it is long overdue.
Acting Columbia President Claire Shipman said Monday that the university would “reject any agreement that would require us to relinquish our independence and autonomy as an educational institution.”
But what does that “autonomy” look like today? For many Jewish students, it means being shouted down, doxxed, or physically assaulted while administrators either look away or offer vague statements about “dialogue.”
Autonomy, in this context, has become the excuse for moral failure. Since the October 7 massacre by Hamas, antisemitic incidents have skyrocketed on US campuses. This is not academic freedom: It is abdication. And it is precisely why the federal government must act.
The demands made by the Trump administration’s Task Force to Combat Antisemitism are not extreme – they are essential.
According to its April 11 letter to Harvard, the proposed reforms include ending DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) programming, requiring merit-based hiring and admissions, banning student groups that glorify violence, implementing new disciplinary protocols, and conducting audits of faculty hiring practices to ensure a broader range of viewpoints.
Among the organizations the administration named for de-recognition were the Harvard Palestine Solidarity Committee, Law Students for Palestine, Students for Justice in Palestine, and the National Lawyers Guild, citing their roles in “promoting violence, disrupting learning, and spreading antisemitic harassment.”
Harvard President Alan Garber, in his rejection of the plan, wrote: “The university will not surrender its independence or relinquish its constitutional rights.”
He added that “no government – regardless of which party is in power – should dictate what private universities can teach, whom they can admit and hire, and which areas of study and inquiry they can pursue.”
The harsh Harvard reality
But Garber’s argument rings hollow. What Harvard seeks to protect is not educational freedom, but institutional impunity. The reality is that Harvard has allowed antisemitism to flourish under the banner of activism and now cries foul when held accountable.
It is worth recalling that the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was enforced not just with words, but with funding. Institutions that refused to desegregate lost access to federal support.
Today’s crisis demands the same moral clarity. When Jewish students are being intimidated in classrooms and assaulted on quads, the government has not only a right to intervene – it has a duty to do so.
President Donald Trump himself framed the issue bluntly, writing on Truth Social: “Perhaps Harvard should lose its Tax Exempt Status…. Remember, Tax Exempt Status is totally contingent on acting in the PUBLIC INTEREST!”
Critics, including former president Barack Obama, have warned that the administration’s actions represent a threat to academic freedom.
“Harvard has set an example… rejecting an unlawful and ham-handed attempt to stifle academic freedom,” Obama posted on X/Twitter. But his statement ignores the lived reality of Jewish students, who are not enjoying freedom – they are being silenced.
This isn’t about ideology. It’s about restoring the basic promise that all students – Jewish, Christian, Muslim, atheist – deserve to feel safe, respected, and free to learn.
Trump’s proposal offers a chance for course correction
What the Trump administration has proposed is a course correction – a necessary and proportional use of government oversight to ensure that taxpayer dollars are not funding hate.
The time for polite letters and listening circles is over. Action is needed. President Trump’s plan recognizes the urgency and responds with clarity. We support it, and we urge Congress, civil rights groups, and Jewish organizations to do the same.
Protecting Jewish students is not an overreach – it’s the bare minimum.
Jesus Christ is King
