When does a University Lose its Utility?

 Disclaimer: As someone who is concerned about bias, I think it is important to state the following. I work at a university in a research capacity, where this work is funded by federal funds/grants. I am acutely aware that I will be discussing the utility of such work to the Nation and population. In addition, I will primarily be discussing 4-year university institutions that host undergraduate/graduate programs. Also this article specifically discusses only institutions in the United States. Lastly, I have not been paid by any institution and all opinions stated are solely my own.

     As I am writing this, late July of 2025, Columbia and Harvard have had a majority of federal funding cut in response to their respective administrations’ inaction against antisemitism, both non-violent and violent acts, on their campuses. Keep in mind that Columbia and Harvard are the most high profile cases, other universities have also been penalized with federal funding cuts due to unchecked antisemitism. Harvard in turn has sued the Federal Government and Columbia's accreditation has been called into question, with the Dept. of Education notifying accreditors of Columbia's Title IV violation (ed.gov). When doing some research for this article, it didn't take me long to find out in various areas of social media actively discussing the university antisemitism scandals that there were a variety of responses. However there were primarily three major responses. The first is simply the “College/University is a SCAM!!” response. This is nothing new and pretty common amongst more politically conservative folk and those hyper-focused on financial efficiency. The second response can be summed as stating that we are in turbulent circumstances, and that these scandals will solve themselves with time. As much as this may be true, we are also discussing unchecked antisemitism that has festered in these institutions for decades, and many Jewish students don't feel safe on their own campuses as we speak, there isn't exactly a lot of time left to wait around. The last response I have seen, and this is specifically targeted at Harvard and Columbia, basically states that these institutions have outlived their usefulness to the Nation and population and should be done away with. The groups of people who I've heard state this view are surprisingly diverse. From bitter academically astute Asian students who were stepped over in the name of DEI in the illegal ‘race quotas’ at various elite universities and Jewish students frustrated with the silence of campus administrators on antisemitism, to conservative commentators, disillusioned high schoolers, and teens frustrated with overbearing expectations pressed on them by their parents when all they want to do is sell cryptocurrencies. This last response is the primary interest of this article, for one of several reasons. Firstly, the diversity of people outwardly expressing this opinion is dumbfounding. Secondly, this opinion has existed in some shape or form for a little while now, even before Oct 2023. However before we even get started on discussing the utility of universities, we need to discuss what post-secondary institutions exist in the United States.

     Firstly are service academies. These institutions offer a four year, post-secondary/undergraduate education program that ends with a commission into the military. Examples of service academies in the United States include but not limited to, 

• United States Military Academy : West Point (USMA - West Point)*

• United States Navy Academy (USNA)*

• United States Air Force Academy (USAFA)*

• United States Coast Guard Academy (USCGA)*

• The Citadel

• Norwich University, etc.

*Note that for the academies run by the Department of Defense, tuition is free and graduates are required to serve at least four years in the military post-graduation. Student population at these institutions is set at 4000 cadets at any given time per federal law.

     Secondly are trade schools. These institutions offer programs for students to learn trades in 3 years or less most of the time. These schools often offer programs in plumbing, electrical work, aviation maintenance and so on. 

    Thirdly are community colleges, these institutions offer associates degrees to their students and said programs are often completed in 2 years. Examples of community colleges include but are not limited to, 

• College of San Mateo 

• Santa Monica College

• City College of San Francisco

   These institutions generally are backed by government funds and have student populations ranging between 1500 to 7000 students in most cases.

    Fourthly, are state run universities. These institutions are often liberal arts universities offering undergraduate programs that students complete in 4 years and graduate programs that students complete in 2 to 7 years (depending on if one is pursuing a master's or a PhD/EdD). Examples of these institutions include but are not limited to,

• University of California: Berkeley (UC Cal)

• University of California: Davis (UC Davis)

• San Francisco State University (SFSU)

• Texas A&M 

• University of Texas: Austin (UT Austin)

• University of Colorado: Boulder (Colorado-Boulder)

• University of Hawaii, etc.

    It is important to note that the land on which these institutions are on were granted by the state government and that these institutions are funded primarily from government funds.

    Lastly, are privately run universities. These institutions may offer a liberal arts education however not always (think MIT). Like their government funded counterparts, they offer 4-year undergraduate programs and graduate programs ranging from 2 to 7 years. Examples of these institutions include but are not limited to, 

• Columbia University

• Harvard University

• Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

• Washington and Lee University

• Liberty University

• Yeshiva University

• Brigham Young University (BYU), etc.

     Universities that fall under this category own their land, raise their own funds through tuition and donations, and government funds are often used as a supplement, not as a primary source of capital.

    In the following discussion, the last two types of institutions are of interest to us. There are some considerations as to why I am focusing on 4-year university institutions exclusively. Firstly, the majority of high profile investigations almost always involve 4-year institutions and the findings from these investigations impact all post-secondary institutions, not just universities. Secondly, there has been growing skepticism towards the need for universities, the same cannot be said for community colleges.  Lastly, the mere amount of antagonization of 4-year institutions warrants this emphasis in attention. Note that this discussion will not surround the ‘scammy’ nature of university, this an issue that requires a student by student analysis, however this will be a discussion on the utility of a 4-year institution to the Nation and population.

      What does a university offer to the Nation and population? Firstly, universities offer to teach skills to the population that will aid them in contributing to the national economy. Secondly, universities conduct research in a non-for-profit setting in subjects helpful to industry sectors essential for the workings of an economic and a security apparatus. These sectors include in no particular order,

• Technology

• Defense

• Chip manufacturing

• Computers, etc.

• Sciences

• Physics

• Chemistry

• Biology

• Bio-tech, etc

• Business and Finance

• Law and Government

• Education

• Health

     While universities offer the above to the Nation, they must also offer the following to all their students(i.e. the population).

• A safe and respectful academic environment 

• Offer support to students who may need it

• Be a forum of critical thinking

• Maintain the peace to ensure effective studying

  Though not hard rules all institutions must follow, these are generally the bare minimum. However, should a university break these rules routinely, their utility to their local communities and Nation should be called into question. 

     Columbia University was ‘ground zero’ for one of the first pro-Hamas encampments in the United States in spring of 2024. This is after a series of rallies at the university were held calling for the ‘divestment from Israel’ and where many openly chanted for the destruction of the Jewish State. Harvard was no different, many rallies in support of palestine/Hamas, that culminated in encampments and blockades against Jewish students. Their publicly funded counterparts in UC Berkeley, UCLA, and UC Santa Barbara were no different. With students having to fight their way though the encampment at UCLA just to get to class. Do note that these rallies were accompanied by a plethora of antisemitic heckling, harassment, assaults, threats and violence that’d occur campuses  across the country on a near daily basis. Clearly, these sorts of environments are not conducive to effective learning, and more appallingly, the support from the administration was lacking, and that’s an understatement. In one example, Barnard College agreed to implement measures to address antisemitism, not because a student informed the administration, but because students sued the college. Two Jewish students have sued MIT for the silence of their administrators in response to a professor doxxing them. These are just two of a plethora of lawsuits that have been launched against universities due to their silence, inaction and incompetence in the face of antisemitism. This is not an environment conducive to effective studying. When a student faces constant heckling, harassment, assaults, threats and violence, their academic performance will start to subside due to various factors including but not limited to mental, emotional, medical and/or interpersonal effects due to the above reasons. These problems are exacerbated by the lack of support from administrations. Consider again the ‘rules’ that universities generally should follow and ensure.

• A safe and respectful academic environment 

• Offer support to students who may need it

• Be a forum of critical thinking

• Maintain the peace to ensure effective studying

     If an institution’s administration doesn't support their Jewish students and goes silent in response to a student’s complaint due to antisemitic behavior targeted at them, the institution has ceased to ensure the above tenants that institutions should follow in order to have any utility to the Nation and population. They would have ceased to have a safe and respectful academic environment, if pro-'palestine'/Hamas professors feel so free to dox their Jewish students or students feel like they can target the student body president just because she’s Jewish, that is no longer a safe and respectful environment. Institutions that go silent in the face of antisemitic incidents cease to offer support to students who need it, for obvious reasons. Campuses with heightened unchecked antisemitism no longer act as forums of critical thinking, if a loud plurality of students can casually influence their peers to form a pro-terrorist, anti-Israel encampment, no one is thinking critically for themselves and their own personal interests, they are sheep following wolves in sheep’s clothing. When institutions allow antisemitic encampments and rallies on their campus because of the delusional belief that cracking down on such obviously discriminatory behavior “infringes free speech”(which it doesn't), they cease to maintain the peace to ensure effective learning. This is why, when institutions cease to support and protect ALL students, they cease to have utility to the Nation and population. Because a student who is unsupported, and not protected, is a student who may not be able to study effectively and potentially even have their education sabotaged by an extremely hostile environment. 

     Is there a solution? Do certain universities need to be disbanded as some on the internet have thought? There are several solutions. The first is frankly simple, cut federal funding from private institutions and threaten their accreditation. The federal government has already done this and after many months of resistance, Columbia has finally given in to the federal government's demands, as much as the government’s demands arguably didn’t go far enough, a discussion for another time. However, Harvard is suing the federal government for its federal funds back and ‘free speech protection’. So it's safe to say that cutting federal funds has had mixed results, but it's too soon to determine the legacy of such actions by the federal government. Second option, sue their pants off!!! This has clearly worked. With the Barnard College case mentioned earlier being a clear example. Gartenberg v. Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art (S.D.N.Y. 2025) being another famous example, where Jewish students sued Cooper Union for their lack of support and inaction against antisemitic incidents, where one such incident involved a mob of pro-palestinian students locking a group of Jewish students into a library and harassing them through the door for hours. On February 5th 2025, a Federal District Judge would deny Cooper Union’s motion to dismiss the Title IV civil rights claim against it. The Court cited that Cooper Union had a responsibility to protect all their students including their Jewish students, and they clearly failed to do so(Lawfare Project). However, lawsuits take time, money and energy that many students simply don’t have, especially those with a science, health or technology major. Thirdly, speak up. Dear reader, whoever you may be. You have a voice and as such, you have the power to light the spark that could lead to change further down the road. Whether this means joining student government, taking to social media, starting a blog, drafting open letters to be posted in newspapers or whatever it may be, speaking up is the most powerful thing you could do in the face of such adversity. Lastly, I, the writer, have a challenge to administrators. I was once in student government, where I worked with administrators and learned the work that administrators do to ensure that a university runs optimally. I have been on both sides of the table. It doesn’t take a lot of effort to hear out a student’s complaint about antisemitism on campus and to send an email to the university senior leadership to attempt to address the situation. Administrators, pay attention to the antisemitism that occurs in all forms just as you do for other forms of discrimination under your university’s Equity and Inclusion policies and Title IV of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This is NOT HARD to do. Work with student government members to enact reforms to ensure a safe and respectful academic environment, and propose internal policies that maintain the peace on your campus. As a peaceful campus, a respectful environment, and support of students are the pillars necessary for a forum of critical thinking and learning that universities offer to the Nation and population. Should these steps not be taken, an institution risks losing its utility to the Nation and population and being tossed into oblivion.

E. L.