Rachel Abrams

Okay, so obviously Columbia is under a ton of pressure. And I would imagine that there was also a lot of pressure from people who did not want the school to cave to the administration's demands. Yeah.

Wow. So what do you make of the fact that they just kind of caved to everything?

Wow. So what do you make of the fact that they just kind of caved to everything?

Right. It seems like, number one, the administration had Columbia over a barrel from the way that you're describing it. And number two, that they just decided, like, it is not worth fighting the government. Sure.

Right. It seems like, number one, the administration had Columbia over a barrel from the way that you're describing it. And number two, that they just decided, like, it is not worth fighting the government. Sure.

It wasn't even like, do all of this and you'll get your money back. It was do all of this and maybe we'll talk to you about getting your money back.

It wasn't even like, do all of this and you'll get your money back. It was do all of this and maybe we'll talk to you about getting your money back.

Right. And that bigger cost, I mean, we've been focusing a lot on Columbia, but there are other schools that the administration has said that it's targeting, right? Like, it feels like we should be prepared to see these hardball tactics elsewhere soon.

Right. And that bigger cost, I mean, we've been focusing a lot on Columbia, but there are other schools that the administration has said that it's targeting, right? Like, it feels like we should be prepared to see these hardball tactics elsewhere soon.

So, Alan, before the break, you told us about some of the fear that these threats and these demands are instilling at not just Columbia, but more broadly at universities around the country. So can you just tell us a little bit more about what you're hearing about that?

So, Alan, before the break, you told us about some of the fear that these threats and these demands are instilling at not just Columbia, but more broadly at universities around the country. So can you just tell us a little bit more about what you're hearing about that?

But just to play devil's advocate for a second here, I think a lot of people listening to this are going to think to themselves, well, why should universities get so much money from the federal government, especially the universities that are pretty rich to begin with?

But just to play devil's advocate for a second here, I think a lot of people listening to this are going to think to themselves, well, why should universities get so much money from the federal government, especially the universities that are pretty rich to begin with?

So can you just explain to us, like, why are these two institutions, the federal government and higher education, why are they so intertwined to begin with?

So can you just explain to us, like, why are these two institutions, the federal government and higher education, why are they so intertwined to begin with?

And just to be clear, when we're talking about federal money, we're not just talking about Columbia and the Ivy Leagues, right? Can you just give us a sense, how dependent are universities across the board on federal money?

And just to be clear, when we're talking about federal money, we're not just talking about Columbia and the Ivy Leagues, right? Can you just give us a sense, how dependent are universities across the board on federal money?

That makes sense. But since you mentioned Harvard and Yale, those schools, along with Columbia and Penn and other places, are schools that have literally billions of dollars in endowments. And so it feels reasonable to say, OK, for those schools that are sitting on top of these giant piles of money, they should be able to use their big endowments to pay for their day-to-day operations.

That makes sense. But since you mentioned Harvard and Yale, those schools, along with Columbia and Penn and other places, are schools that have literally billions of dollars in endowments. And so it feels reasonable to say, OK, for those schools that are sitting on top of these giant piles of money, they should be able to use their big endowments to pay for their day-to-day operations.

They should not need to rely on the federal government.