The American Federation of Teachers and the American Association of University Professors filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration for forcing Columbia University to "surrender its academic independence."
The two groups labeled the administration's actions to force Columbia to adopt restrictive speech codes and allow the government to exercise some level of control over teaching and learning as a "stunning new tactic."
Columbia announced Friday that it will follow the Trump administration's direction to meet several demands to remove a government-ordered block on $400 million in funding, according to a report.
Those changes included adding new security personnel with arrest powers, and banning people from wearing face masks on university property if that was done in order to break laws or intimidate others.
Education Secretary Linda McMahon said in response that Columbia was on the right track after incidents of harassment of Jewish students at Columbia.
However, educators are not convinced of the value behind the government demands. When announcing the lawsuit, Todd Wolfson, president of the AAUP, said, "The Trump administration's threats and coercion at Columbia are part of a clear authoritarian playbook meant to crush academic freedom and critical research in American higher education."
Reinhold Martin, president of the Columbia AAUP chapter, said, "We're seeing university leadership across the country failing to take any action to counter the Trump administration's unlawful assault on academic freedom. We have to stand up."
The lawsuit was filed in New York's Southern District.
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