Columbia University—once a symbol of academic excellence—has agreed to pay hefty fines for its continued use of unconstitutional DEI practices and its failure to protect Jewish students from rising antisemitism on campus.
About time.
For years, colleges like Columbia have replaced the pursuit of knowledge with social engineering experiments. They abandoned merit in favor of quotas, identity politics, and ideological purity tests. DEI offices ballooned, free speech shrank, and anyone not marching in lockstep with progressive orthodoxy was branded a problem—or worse, a bigot.
Now, they’re being forced to answer for it.
DEI: A Trojan Horse of Division
Let’s be clear: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion sounds noble in name, but in practice, it has become a bureaucratic cult. Originally marketed as a way to ensure fairness and opportunity, DEI programs quickly morphed into engines of conformity and ideological policing.
Instead of fostering collaboration, these programs often push racial essentialism—reducing individuals to their group identity rather than treating them as unique people. Students are divided into oppressors and oppressed, with entire groups labeled as privileged or guilty simply by birth.
The irony? In the name of inclusion, these initiatives exclude. In the name of fairness, they promote double standards. And in the name of tolerance, they foster hostility toward dissenting voices.
Numerous reports and academic studies have shown how DEI bureaucracies, once established, become self‑perpetuating empires. Budgets balloon, mandatory trainings multiply, and the original mission of diversity gives way to rigid orthodoxy. Faculty are pressured to toe the line. Students learn quickly that success depends less on the strength of their ideas and more on whether they fit the preferred narrative.
Columbia’s enforcement of these policies wasn’t just misguided—it was illegal. And now they’re paying for it.
Antisemitism Thrived Under “Inclusive” Leadership
The hypocrisy is stunning. While Columbia touted its inclusive values, Jewish students reported a growing climate of hostility and intimidation.
Antisemitic protests were allowed to rage with impunity. Threats, harassment, and discriminatory rhetoric were often brushed off as “free expression.” Meanwhile, conservative speakers were canceled, pro‑Israel events were shut down, and students expressing dissenting views found themselves subject to discipline or silencing.
This wasn’t inclusion. This was ideological favoritism—plain and simple.
The problem is bigger than Columbia. Universities nationwide have tolerated, even encouraged, antisemitic rhetoric under the banner of activism. By refusing to apply the same rules to all students, they undermine not only their credibility but also their legal obligations.
Under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, institutions receiving federal funds are required to ensure equal treatment and to prevent discrimination on the basis of race, color, or national origin. Selective enforcement of speech codes is more than hypocrisy—it’s a violation of civil rights law.
For a school with Columbia’s prestige, the failure to protect its Jewish students is not just shameful—it’s a scandal.
The Return to Meritocracy Starts Now
Columbia’s punishment should be a signal flare to every university in America: Stop the madness.
Shut down the activist echo chambers masquerading as equity departments. Fire the administrators who believe skin color determines truth. End the obsession with identity quotas and grievance politics.
Most importantly—bring back merit.
A university’s mission is not to coddle students with comforting narratives but to challenge them with difficult ideas. It is not to lower standards in the name of “equity” but to raise students to meet the highest expectations of excellence.
This means returning to objective admissions standards, re‑centering hiring on ability rather than ideological conformity, and reaffirming the principle that truth is not determined by demographics but by evidence, reason, and merit.
If the Ivy League is supposed to be the intellectual vanguard of the nation, it cannot continue to function as a taxpayer‑subsidized indoctrination camp. The country needs doctors, engineers, entrepreneurs, and scholars—not professional activists who see oppression in every shadow.
This isn’t just about DEI. It’s about reclaiming higher education from the ideologues who hijacked it.
Why This Matters
This issue goes far beyond Columbia University. At stake is the very mission of higher education in America. If universities continue down the path of ideological capture, they will produce graduates more fluent in grievance than in competence.
Re‑embracing meritocracy ensures that:
- Students of all backgrounds can succeed on equal footing, judged by their abilities rather than their identities.
- Jewish students and other minorities are protected under the law from selective enforcement and institutional bias.
- The trades, small business ownership, and skilled professions are recognized as valid, dignified, and necessary career paths for those who thrive outside the academic ivory tower.
Accountability at the Ivy League level matters because what happens there trickles down to universities and schools nationwide. If Columbia is forced back toward merit and fairness, others will follow.
Final Thought
Columbia University is finally being forced to reckon with its failures. That’s a win—for free speech, for Jewish students, for fairness, and for every American who believes we should be judged by the content of our character, not the color of our skin or the cause we hashtag.
Let this be the first of many. Other universities should take note: accountability is coming, and the days of unchecked ideological capture are numbered.
References
- Grim, B. J., & Grim, M. E. (2016). The Socioeconomic Contributions of Religion to American Society: An Empirical Analysis. Interdisciplinary Journal of Research on Religion, 12(3).
- Pew Research Center. (2015). U.S. Public Becoming Less Religious.
- Matthew 21:12–13, Matthew 19:24 – New International Version Bible.
- NPR. (2021). Kenneth Copeland: The Preacher Who Thinks He Can Blow COVID-19 Away With Wind.
- Forbes. (2012). The Richest Pastors In America.
- Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights.
Disclaimer:
The views expressed in this post are opinions of the author for educational and commentary purposes only. They are not statements of fact about any individual or organization, and should not be construed as legal, medical, or financial advice. References to public figures and institutions are based on publicly available sources cited in the article. Any resemblance beyond these references is coincidental.
