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Subject: Weekly Briefing: Barnard's president speaks out against protesters
Barnard’s president speaks out against student protests.
Dozens of pro-Palestinian protesters staged a sit-in outside the office of Barnard College’s dean, Leslie Grinage, demanding the reinstatement of two expelled Barnard students.Stella Ragas, The Columbia Spectator
Barnard’s president draws her line in the sand on student protests. In January, four pro-Palestine protesters
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Barnard’s president speaks out against student protests.
Dozens of pro-Palestinian protesters staged a sit-in outside the office of Barnard College’s dean, Leslie Grinage, demanding the reinstatement of two expelled Barnard students.Stella Ragas, The Columbia Spectator
Barnard’s president draws her line in the sand on student protests. In January, four pro-Palestine protesters forced themselves into a Columbia University building to stage a sit-in during a History of Modern Israel course in which Barnard College students were also enrolled. This disruption wasn’t a tactic to create civil discourse, writes Laura Ann Rosenbury, Barnard’s president, in a Chronicle Review essay; it was an act of intimidation. Protesters spoke over the professor and distributed antisemitic fliers. The two Barnard students who participated were expelled. The protests continued at Barnard when demonstrators entered offices that provide support for first-generation, low-income students and caused $30,000 in damage to a building. In the essay, Rosenbury doesn’t mince words: “Expulsion is always an extraordinary measure, but we did what needed to be done, and we will continue to do so.” Read her essay here.
The Education Department will immediately cancel $400 million in federal grants to Columbia University. The abrupt announcement came four days after three federal agencies announced a review of $5 billion in federal contracts and grants held by Columbia. For over a year, Columbia has faced harsh criticism over its handling of protests calling for the university to cut its financial ties with Israel. Though it was not immediately clear which grants were being canceled, a Columbia spokesperson said in a statement that the university will “work with the federal government to restore Columbia’s federal funding.” Get the full story.
Hold on tight: Two-thirds of colleges show at least one sign of financial distress. In a working paper, three academics analyzed what factors are associated with college closures and the numbers behind those factors. Here’s one factor: declining enrollment. Nearly six in 10 public universities and private nonprofit institutions and almost three-fourths of community colleges from the analysis enrolled fewer students in 2023 than in 2014. And efforts to mitigate enrollment loss, like cutting academic programs or shuttering buildings, fall short. Read an essay about the findings here.
Education Department tells colleges which race and DEI programs may be illegal. Last week, the Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights issued a document outlining the Trump administration’s interpretation of Title VI, the federal law barring discrimination in education based on race, color, and national origin. The takeaway is that not all DEI programs are illegal. For example, programs focused on a particular culture or region “would not in and of themselves” be illegal if they are open to all students, the document states. Get the full rundown here.
This week on College Matters from The Chronicle: Understand the world of college-sports gambling. Listen on Apple, Spotify, or YouTube.
Last week’s most-read story from the newsletter: This one about why colleges should focus on meaning and purpose, not money-making potential, when communicating to students and families.
Lagniappe
Read. Welcome to the fascinating world of high-school marching bands. This story examines the age-old practice that has gotten more elaborate but remains joyful for students. (The New Yorker)
Listen. In this episode of This American Life, a son tries to mend his father’s relationship with the rest of the family by placing a bet.
