Got Doubts Now? Good. Keep Asking.

By Tim Slekar | BustED Pencils Blog

Columbia University just paid $221 million and agreed to sweeping changes in how it admits students, hires faculty, and sets campus policy—all under pressure from the federal government, which claimed the university failed to stop antisemitic harassment.

Let’s be clear: higher education must do more to protect Jewish students and faculty. Antisemitism is real, and any institution that tolerates it fails its mission. We also need broader academic diversity—genuine spaces for debate, disagreement, and the exchange of bold ideas. Speakers with unpopular or controversial viewpoints should never be run off campus, just as students have the right to peacefully protest those events. A healthy academic environment protects both speech and dissent—because real learning happens where ideas are tested, not silenced.

But that’s not what happened here.

Instead, this was a politically charged power move. The government cut hundreds of millions in funding, threatened accreditation, and forced Columbia to adopt vague ideological pledges, drop diversity efforts, and turn over detailed demographic data. The result? A university under pressure to conform—not educate.

This wasn’t about meaningful reform. It was about using financial leverage to punish perceived political enemies and dictate how higher education should think. Ironically, that doesn’t increase academic diversity—it strikes a huge blow against it.

When the government starts demanding ideological obedience in exchange for funding, we all lose. That’s not accountability—it’s control.