June 7, 2025 — DELAND, FLA.
On Wednesday, June 4, the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights formally notified the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE) that Columbia University has allegedly violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, according to a press release from the department. Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, according to the Department of Justice website, “prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, and national origin in programs and activities receiving federal financial assistance.” This alleged violation was reportedly made in accordance with President Donald Trump’s Executive Order, “Reforming Accreditation to Strengthen Higher Education.”
The Middle States Commission on Higher Education, according to its website, is a “global institutional accreditor recognized by the United States Secretary of Education… [and] assures students and the public of the educational quality for its over 500 institutions of higher education.” Among the institution roster, Columbia is not the only heavyweight name; it sits among other prestigious universities like Carnegie Mellon, Cornell, and Georgetown. Upon visiting MSCHE’s institution directory, readers may feel reassured to see “accredited” and “Accreditation Reaffirmed” under all Columbia campuses, but this does not indicate finality in MSCHE’s decision. Accreditation is a process that occurs only once within a designated span of time, typically set by the institution’s accrediting body – in this case, MSCHE – based on previous evaluations and any applicable compliance issues.
What could have sparked such a rare and extraordinary challenge to the university’s action? The answer lies in governmental findings that allege Columbia University failed to adequately respond to reported anti-Semitic harassment on campus– a claim tied to rising tensions surrounding the Israel-Gaza conflict and student demonstrations that have been ongoing since October 7, 2023.
In the wake of the October 7 Hamas attacks on Israel, Columbia University’s Manhattan campus has been a focal point for student activism, especially pertaining to Palestinian liberation. Recurring pro-Palestine demonstrations and an indefinite encampment have been active since 2023. Since the early days of the encampment and demonstration, federal officials concluded that Columbia University administration has “acted with deliberate indifference” toward the harassment of Jewish students, which would be a breach of the MSCHE requirement to comply with the law. This has raised several questions among Jewish and non-Jewish students alike about the conflation of Judaism and Zionism and what that will mean for their freedom of expression on campuses nationwide.
MSCHE has since confirmed that they received the letter from the Department of Education, and President Heather Perfetti said that MSCHE will “process these findings in accordance with our policies and procedures.” Accreditation experts note that only the accreditor can suspend or revoke accreditation and that the federal government cannot directly strip a school of its status. If Columbia University is found to be out of compliance by MSCHE, it would likely be issued a warning, placed on a probationary period, and allotted a discretionary period to improve any deficiencies. Full loss of accreditation is extremely rare and is almost always for financial insolvency or bankruptcy, not policy issues.
Columbia University officials say they take these allegations very seriously. In a campus statement from late May 2025, Acting President Claire Shipman affirmed “everyone must feel safe, supported and respected on campus” and described restorative measures that have already been taken. These include increased security around Jewish student centers, expanded support services, and streamlined disciplinary processes for harassment complaints.
While these efforts sound promising on paper, reactions on and off campus were swift and divided. Some Jewish student groups welcomed federal enforcement of Title VI, while some pro-Palestinian students and alumni argued the focus on accreditation was politically motivated, and not actually reported out of care for Jewish students at Columbia University. On social media, many are celebrating as if Columbia’s accreditation has already been revoked– a misinterpretation that MSCHE has already corrected. Below are examples of such celebrations under an NBC Breaking News post on x.com:
Columbia University students of all political backgrounds are outraged at this development. As the news broke on the r/columbia subreddit, student users flooded the comment section.
u/globehopper2, a student of the Columbia Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, wrote, “So are we finally going to admit this is just about attacking higher ed and that appeasement only encourages a wannabe dictator?”
To which, u/DoodlebopMoe, a student of General Studies, replied, “We’ve got Neville Chamberlain as University president when we need Churchill.”
u/NextRealm_AI, a student of the School of Professional Studies, is torn between their sympathy for the position their alma mater finds itself in and their critique of the Trump administration. “I really felt [Columbia University’s] pain being between a rock and a hard place on their reliance on government grants and foreign students, but was [the] White House administration ever really going to give them a pass? It’s great politics for them to beat on the smart kids [that] their followers could never be. I think [at] this point, Columbia should join forces with Harvard and unleash a wave of lawsuits and litigation…”
The reason this is important to student journalists all the way in DeLand, Florida, is because Columbia University, home of the Pulitzer Prize, has long been espoused for its dedication to First Amendment rights. “This is where free speech lives,” is a claim staked by Columbia, making it a school that many student journalists, including myself, dream of admission to. However, it is hiccups like these that shake current and future Lions’ perception of just how feasible it would be to attend this distinguished university.
Should the processes run their courses, and MSCHE finds Columbia University in violation of Title VI and chooses to revoke their accreditation accordingly, Columbia students and organizations would be completely cut off from accessing federal financial aid. Many students at Columbia are only able to attend through the receipt of Pell Grants, a Federal Grant reserved for students with the highest need.
Such a decision would not only penalize Columbia as an institution but also set a precedent that further narrows access to elite institutions for low-income students across the country.
Several national free expression watchdogs – more notably, those focused on student rights – have responded to Columbia University’s crisis. In an article on their website, the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) criticized the federal government’s demands on Columbia, viewing them as overreaching and potentially harmful to free speech and academic freedom. A FIRE correspondent stated in response to the cancellation of $400 million in federal contracts with Columbia:
“The departments’ demands… go too far. The letter announces steps the school must take ‘that we regard as a precondition for formal negotiations regarding Columbia University’s continued financial relationship with the United States Government.’ While these include some policy steps that Columbia should already have taken, the letter goes far beyond what is appropriate for the government to mandate and will chill campus discourse.”
Whether or not Columbia University will face punitive measures in the near future, the scrutiny signals a deeper shift: political agendas may reshape how universities protect – or police – student expression.
For student journalists, especially those from marginalized or underfunded backgrounds, this message is unnerving. If even the esteemed Columbia University is vulnerable, what does that mean for smaller universities that do not have the same pull or power as Ivy League heavyweights?
This story is still developing and updates will be provided as they come.
