Protecting Students Requires More Than Punishing Universities

At a time when classrooms should be leading the fight against hate, President Trump and his administration have cut millions of dollars in federal funding from top universities across the nation, including Cornell. Education fosters respect, empathy, and critical thinking, and universities must prioritize these fundamentals as tensions surrounding conflict in the Middle East have risen since October 7, 2023. Echoing recommendations from the Heritage Foundation’s “Project Esther,” Trump has come down hard on universities accused of tolerating antisemitic behavior from their students, stating that this rescinding of funds is a method of protecting Jewish students. Nonetheless, punishing learning institutions by stripping their resources is misguided, counterproductive, and dangerous. Ultimately, this response raises questions about whether the true target is antisemitism itself or the broader culture of academic diversity and critical inquiry that conservatives often label as “wokeness.”

The purpose of this article is not to question the resurgence of antisemitism on college campuses. The numbers and incidents speak for themselves. In a January 2025 study, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) surveyed more than 2,000 university students at over 135 universities and found that 83.2% of Jewish college students have experienced or witnessed some form of antisemitism since October 2023. Notably, in October 2023, the FBI worked with Cornell and local law enforcement after someone anonymously posted antisemitic death threats targeting Jewish students on an online discussion board. These threats were so graphic and specific that Cornell canceled classes and increased security for its Jewish community, suddenly swarming Collegetown with black SUVs and cameras. As a sophomore living in a Jewish sorority house, I remember the terror of knowing that some of those threats were directed at our home. Because of those threats, Cornell University Police maintained nightly patrols around our house for the remainder of the year. While incidents like these threats may allow Trump to invoke “protecting Jews” as justification for his funding cuts, the rise in antisemitism has only offered conservatives a convenient cover to attack what they call “wokeism.” 

Trump’s policy response mirrors the Heritage Foundation’s “Project Esther,” which outlines reasons, methods, effects, and goals to “combat antisemitism.” The strategy repeatedly cites the terms “leftist progressive organizations,” “progressive movements,” and “progressive members.” In a report supposedly designed to protect Jewish students from antisemitic threats, such constant references to left-wing ideology sound out of place. “Project Esther” reveals a deeper truth: conservative leaders weaponize antisemitism to discredit left-wing political expression on campus rather than confronting antisemitism itself. 

Universities are meant to exist as safe havens where disagreement, debate, and uncomfortable conversations can take place without fear. Today, hostile campus climates often prevent those conversations from happening. Universities often fail to apply consistent standards for what constitutes danger or harm across different groups. As the American Council on Education (ACE) observed in its 2024 higher-education guidance, institutions frequently struggle to apply “the same standard for harassment and discrimination at one political demonstration or counter demonstration as [they do] to an opposing or competing rally.” Trump, however, overcorrects by punishing entire institutions and crippling their ability to function. Universities should remain accountable, but depriving them of the very means that make them unique and successful undermines their role in advancing the world’s knowledge. 

When the government withdraws federal funding, it robs universities of the resources they need to maintain research and student programs. After Cornell’s federal funding was withdrawn, Cornell received more than 75 stop-work orders from the government, with grants from the Departments of Defense, Education, and Health and Human Services accounting for most of the paused contracts. These stoppages blocked students from accessing research assistantships, laboratory placements, and community-based internships. Furthermore, they also disrupted faculty projects in fields such as biomedical engineering and public health, and hurt local organizations that depend on federally supported outreach programs. Universities are not playgrounds, and federal funding should not operate as if one group of students’ bad behavior means everyone loses recess. Jewish students still face very real threats, but meeting those challenges requires investment in security and inclusion, not the withdrawal of federal support.

Schools across the country must be held responsible for protecting their students, but cutting off federal support is the wrong path forward. Antisemitism is a real and urgent threat that Jewish students, including those at Cornell, continue to face. Confronting these issues requires targeted solutions that strengthen rather than weaken higher education. The government could encourage universities to expand inclusion programs, invest in campus security measures that ensure demonstrations remain limited to enrolled students and recognized affiliates, and foster dialogue across differences instead of treating universities as battlegrounds in a political war against “wokeness.” Classrooms should remain spaces where hard conversations and conflicting ideas are possible, not academic spaces reduced to tools of partisan conflict. If the goal is truly to protect Jewish students, then education and empowerment, not punishment, must be the answer. 

Photo Credit

Will Barkoff, Unsplash License, via Unsplash