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NEW YORK (AP) — A federal judge has issued a temporary order preventing Columbia University and Barnard College from complying with a request from a Republican-led House committee that seeks access to student disciplinary records. This ruling will remain in effect until a hearing takes place next week regarding a request for a temporary restraining order filed by Mahmoud Khalil and several other students.
Khalil, a graduate student at Columbia facing deportation due to his participation in protests against Israel, along with other students represented by pseudonyms, initiated a lawsuit aimed at blocking the House Committee on Education and the Workforce from acquiring records related to student demonstrations.
U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian has scheduled a hearing for Tuesday to address this matter.
The lawsuit targets not only the universities but also the committee and its chairman, Rep. Tim Walberg, a Republican from Michigan. The students are seeking a lasting injunction to prevent Congress from mandating the release of these records and to prohibit the universities from complying with the committee’s demands.
Earlier, the committee sent a written request insisting that Columbia and Barnard submit the records, warning them of potential repercussions that could include loss of federal funding amounting to billions of dollars.
This judicial action coincides with a deadline for Columbia to respond to directives from the Trump administration aiming for substantial policy changes to secure federal funding. This includes addressing accusations regarding failure to protect individuals against antisemitism amidst recent pro-Palestinian protests, leading to demands that are reported to hinge on $400 million in federal funding already withheld.
The requests entail significant reforms, such as placing the school’s Department of Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African Studies under strict oversight for a minimum of five years, introducing a revised definition of antisemitism, and revising admissions policies.
Amidst these developments, a collective of history professors at Columbia has expressed their concerns through a letter to university leadership. They denounced the attempts to exert what they described as “authoritarian” control over higher education institutions.
In the letter, the faculty warned that yielding to such control could undermine the institution’s ability to foster genuine historical scholarship and intellectual engagement. They emphasized the need for an unobstructed environment for honest discourse about both contemporary and historical matters.
The professors also provided a historical context, referencing previous instances at Columbia involving academic freedom, such as faculty dismissals during World War I and the expulsion of a student in 1936 for leading anti-Nazi protests. They cautioned, however, that the current struggle diverges significantly from those earlier episodes.
Regarding the professors’ letter, Columbia University officials noted a statement made by the university president, Katrina Armstrong.
In her statement, Armstrong affirmed that the university would maintain open communication with federal regulators concerning issues of antisemitism, harassment, and discrimination, while emphasizing their commitment to uphold the principles of academic freedom and free expression that have defined the institution for over two centuries.
“We will address legitimate inquiries regarding our practices and progress,” she stated, “but we will steadfastly uphold our values of pedagogical independence and our legal obligations.”
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