Even American universities that actively cooperate with the government find it difficult to escape the crisis.

(Dan Tri) - US President Donald Trump once mentioned Columbia University as a typical example for Harvard to look back on how to cooperate with the government. But Columbia University itself is also struggling.

In a media interview on May 28, US President Donald Trump emphasized: “Harvard needs to understand that we don’t want to do anything that would negatively affect them. They are hurting themselves. They are choosing confrontation.

Columbia University has similar problems to Harvard, they also have groups of students with extremist, racist ideologies.

But at least Columbia is working with the government to fix the problem. Harvard wants to look smart and ends up in a mess.”

However, recently, the US government threatened to withdraw recognition from Columbia University because the school failed to protect students from extremist and violent acts on campus.

Columbia University campus (Photo: Straits Times).

On June 4 (US time), the US government announced that it would consider withdrawing recognition from Columbia University. This threat puts Columbia University at risk of losing all federal funding as well as its academic reputation, even though Columbia University is a prestigious university in the US.

This move shows that the US President's administration is continuing to tighten control over many prestigious universities in the United States.

On June 5, US Secretaryof Education Linda McMahon wrote on her official social media account: “Columbia University turned a blind eye when a group of students were harassed by groups of students with different views. As such, the school violated federal law on regulations that strictly prohibit discrimination from organizations receiving funding from the government.”

In a warning sent to Columbia University by the US Department of Education on June 4, authorities assessed that Columbia University leaders had shown a deliberate indifference to harassment occurring on campus. This attitude was considered “unethical and illegal.”

The U.S. Department of Education said it had notified the higher education accrediting agency of the issue and found Columbia to be failing to meet accreditation standards.

If accreditation is revoked, Columbia will lose access to federal aid. Its students will also be ineligible for scholarships or loans from government-run student aid programs.

The US government had previously frozen $400 million in funding for Columbia, prompting Columbia University to immediately make a series of commitments to the authorities. Following the recent announcement by the US Secretary of Education, Columbia has continued to pledge to take even stronger actions.

The wave of protests at Columbia has forced US education leaders to testify before the US Congress . Columbia's former president, Minouche Shafik, resigned in August 2024 under pressure from the controversy surrounding the school's handling of the protests.

Many universities want to help Harvard in legal battle with US government

On June 6 (US time), 18 leading universities in the US, including Princeton, MIT, Caltech and Johns Hopkins, asked the federal court to allow them to submit legal arguments in support of Harvard.

The filings are intended to help Harvard strengthen its legal case against the U.S. government, which is seeking to freeze funding, deny international student admissions, and bar Harvard students and scholars from entering the U.S. for the next six months.

Harvard University campus (Photo: Straits Times).

In a filing with a federal court in Boston, Massachusetts, USA - where Harvard filed a series of lawsuits - 18 US universities said they had also received millions of dollars in funding from the US government to conduct research projects that contributed to promoting scientific development, protecting national security, increasing economic development and improving the quality of medical examination and treatment.

However, a series of prestigious universities in the US such as Princeton, Cornell, Northwestern and Columbia... have had their funding suspended, cut or reconsidered by the US government.

Universities that co-signed the court filing argued that the funding cuts would have dire consequences, disrupting research and putting existing achievements at risk.

In addition, scientists' research careers are being severely affected. Investors who fund universities are also discouraged.

The moves the US government is making with American universities are intended to promote far-reaching changes in the US higher education system, starting with the country's "elite" universities.

Currently, the governments of several states, led by Massachusetts - home to Harvard University - have also offered to participate in submitting legal arguments to defend Harvard in court.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/giao-duc/cac-truong-dh-my-tich-cuc-hop-tac-voi-chinh-phu-cung-kho-thoat-khung-hoang-20250607115300969.htm