The Northwestern Concerned Faculty Group is digging in its heels, opposing any agreement with President Donald Trump's administration that would release the nearly $800 million in frozen federal funds, reports Campus Reform.
Northwestern is one of at least 10 schools who are or have been investigated by the Trump administration regarding antisemitism on their campus.
The Department of Education canceled $400 million in federal grants due to Columbia University for its failure to address harassment of Jewish students.
Harvard was also targeted with visa restrictions and funding cuts tied to concerns about Jewish student safety.
Additionally, Harvard is reportedly negotiating a $500 million settlement to restore federal funding blocked over the federal investigation.
The Northwestern faculty group said that, if the school gives in to the demands of the Trump administration, it would be “complicit in an assault on higher education.”
Laurie Higgins is a culture-education writer at Breakthrough Ideas.
"What the Trump administration is saying is that you have to stop this woeful indoctrination. Everyone who's honest will say they recognize that colleges and universities have a strong ideological bias, and their bias now is harming Jewish kids," states Higgins.
Higgins believes it may be resolute alumni who will eventually end this standoff.
"You never can tell where this is going to go. If you get a lot of pressure from alumni who are saying, ‘no, we're not going to donate to Northwestern anymore,’ if the board of trustees get a lot of flak from alumni donors who are saying, ‘we're going to take our money away from Northwester,’ then you might see some movement there," Higgins says.
Northwestern has admitted they've implemented spending cuts and staff reductions because of the Trump administration's funding freeze.
