On Friday’s “PBS NewsHour,” Princeton University President Christopher Eisgruber reacted to Columbia University agreeing to demands from the Trump administration to keep federal money by stating that “I think once you make concessions once, it’s hard not to make them again.” And that while there are laws on antisemitism that have to be enforced, “there are right ways and wrong ways to go about that. And the wrong way to do it is to use federal funding as a cudgel to force concessions to academic freedom.”
“NewsHour’s” Jeffrey Brown asked, “I want to start with news that we’re both learning about right now, I believe, which is that Columbia University seems to have agreed to many of the demands from the Trump administration, in the hope of keeping that $400 million in research. What’s your response?”
Eisgruber answered, “Let me say, first of all, I have huge respect for Columbia University and tremendous respect for their President, Dr. Katrina Armstrong. So, I don’t want to be in the position of second-guessing a peer institution, particularly under circumstances where I’ve just learned about the agreement. What I will say is this: Academic freedom is a fundamental principle of universities, it has to be protected. And so, I have concerns if universities make concessions about that. And I think once you make concessions once, it’s hard not to make them again. So, that would be a framework that I would bring to this decision at any American university.”
Later, Brown asked, “What about, though, the main charge from the administration? Does Columbia, do you and other universities, do you have a problem of antisemitism on campus, or do you think that’s being exaggerated? And what, if anything, is being done about it?”
Eisgruber responded, “Look, I’m a scholar of religious freedom. I’m Jewish myself. I am deeply concerned about antisemitism. It is an appropriate thing for the government to be concerned about. And it’s something that all of us as university presidents have to be concerned about. There are laws that require us to care about any kind of discrimination on our campus, including antisemitism on our campuses. And it’s important that the government enforce those laws, but there are also processes specified in those laws in court decisions and in regulations that the government needs to follow. So, there are right ways and wrong ways to go about that. And the wrong way to do it is to use federal funding as a cudgel to force concessions to academic freedom.”
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