Trump administration: a billion dollars claimed at the University of California

The California public university announced on Friday that the US government claimed a monster fine of $ 1 billion (808.3 million Swiss francs) for the 2024 Propaletinian demonstrations, a new offensive of the Donald Trump administration against higher education.

The amount represents almost five times what New York Private University Columbia has agreed to pay at the end of July. Similarly, more than $ 200 million (161.6 million Swiss francs). to settle a dispute on charges of anti-Semitism on its campus during the spring 2024 movement against the war waged by Israel in the Gaza Strip.

“As a public trump administration: billion dollars claimed university. we are dependent on the taxpayer’s resources and a payment of this magnitude would completely destroy the best public university system in the country and would do an immense harm to our students and all Californians,” the President of the University of California (UC) James Millike told the press.

The formal notice of the federal government received on Friday

According to this official who oversees ten campuses. the most important of whom in Los Angeles (UCLA), headquarters of last year’s demonstrations and in the Trump administration’s crosshairs, the University received the formal notice from the federal government on Friday.

According to media in California. the Trump government would also demand that the University pay $ 172 million (139 million Swiss francs) to its Jewish students who have felt discriminated against and intimidated during the trump administration: billion dollars claimed campus movement 15 months ago.

The UC network. located in the most populated and richest state in the country, is considered the best public higher education system in the United States, where prestigious private universities are practicing prohibitive tariffs.

“We are going to bring a lawsuit”

Questioned on Friday at a press conference. the California Democratic Governor, Gavin Newsom, who sits on the UC board of directors, announced his intention to challenge this decision -making decision.

“We are going to bring a trial. ” he said, accusing Donald Trump of trying to muzzle academic freedom by trying to “extort $ a billion dollars if we do not fold in his requirements”.

According to the elected official. the university system of his state constitutes trump administration: billion dollars claimed “one of the reasons why California is the pillar of the American economy, one of the reasons why we have more scientists, engineers and winners of the Nobel Prize than any other state” in the country.

“Crucial work” carried out by UCLA

James Milliken also underlined the “crucial work that UCLA. the UC network in terms of technological and medical research performs, in order to save lives, grow the American economy and preserve national security”.

Since his return to power on January 20. President Trump, an unwavering ally of Israel, has continued to accentuate pressures on universities.

He notably frozen more than $ 2.6 billion (2.1 billion Swiss francs) in research subsidies that were allocated to Harvard University and hundreds of millions for Columbia.

A “devastating trump administration: billion dollars claimed preceding”

The latter sealed at the end of July a financial agreement at 221 million dollars (178.6 million Swiss francs) with the United States government to end months of conflict. but experts denounced a “devastating precedent” in this “authoritarian” offensive conducted against higher education in the United States.

The New York Times reported last week that an agreement at $ 500 million (404.1 million Swiss francs) was in preparation with Harvard, the oldest university in the country, Harvard.

AFP

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