UC Berkeley among colleges being investigated by Trump administration over antisemitism claims

BERKELEY, Calif. - UC Berkeley is among 60 U.S. colleges currently under federal investigation over their handling of antisemitism on campus, a move initiated by the Department of Education. The probe follows a year of campus protests in response to the Israel-Hamas war.

Some students said they are worried the investigation could result in cuts to federal funding at the university, a fear intensified by last week’s decision to revoke $400 million in grants and contracts from Columbia University.

For some students, the federal scrutiny is long overdue.

What they're saying:

"My first reaction was finally, why did it take so long?" said Sharon Knafelman, a UC Berkeley student and member of Berkeley Hillel. "I believe in free speech. This is the United States. It’s one of our greatest assets as a country, but there has to be a line when this free speech is literally leading to the normalization of antisemitism."

The university, in a statement, maintained confidence in its current policies, stating, "We are confident we have the right processes in place now to respond to any antisemitic incidents."

However, other students expressed concerns over the potential financial impact of the investigation.

"Of course, it’s not great when funding is pulled," one student said. Another, who requested anonymity, admitted, "I am a little worried about how my education will be impacted by this, and what changes the funding will have on my classes and also, in the future, different classes in general."

Local perspective:

Morgan Polikoff, a professor of education at the University of Southern California, one of the schools under investigation, warned that funding cuts could have widespread consequences.

"It could impact the ability of educators to teach the way they want to teach, it could impact the course offerings that are provided on college campuses, it could impact the kind of research that gets done, it could impact the kinds of behaviors that are tolerated in terms of student free speech," Polikoff said. "And there’s no question that these kinds of devastating cuts will really have a serious long term negative impact on the state of American higher education."

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