Northwestern Political Union members gathered in Scott Hall Monday night to debate how the University should respond to the Trump administration freezing $790 million in federal funding for NU.
The Political Union framed its discussion around the hypothetical resolution “Northwestern should comply with Columbia-like federal demands.” Both sides were considered during the discussion, with votes held prior to and after the hour-long debate.
Earlier this week, the Trump administration announced a freeze on federal funding to several schools, including NU. While experts remain unclear about the legality of the freeze, the Trump administration said the move aimed to penalize antisemitism from campus protests last year. Columbia University recently agreed to comply with federal demands to avoid its own funding freeze.
The debate began with two votes in favor, 11 against and five abstentions, with more students joining as the debate went on.
Two Political Union members — Weinberg juniors Elsa Steen Koppell and Joe Gonsalves — gave prepared four-minute opening statements to represent the “pro” and the “con” sides of the resolution, respectively.
Steen Koppell said if the Supreme Court upholds the funding freeze, valuable research conducted by the university could be threatened for many years.
The opening speakers’ statements, which did not necessarily reflect their personal views, served as stepping stones for student discussion once the floor was opened to audience members.
In an April 10 email to the NU community, University President Michael Schill said the funding cuts affect research in “wearable devices, robotics, nanotechnology, foreign military training, Parkinson’s disease and many other critical research programs.”
But Steen Koppell also pointed out that if the resolution called on NU to follow in the footsteps of Harvard University — which announced it will reject federal orders Monday — then it would be “a different conversation.” Steen Koppell said the demands made of Harvard are “significantly stricter” than at Columbia.
“This is a mismatched government with a vendetta against education,” Gonsalves said in support of the “con” side. “If not now, when will Northwestern pick a stand?”
Several students in the audience questioned what additional hypothetical restrictions could be placed on free speech on campus. Many expressed concerns about the new demonstration policy introduced in September, which placed restrictions on the time, place and manner of student-led protests.
Weinberg senior Peter Ryan said non-compliance would serve as a symbolic stand against further potential interference by the administration on college campuses. He also said it would be “good for the brand” to be the only school to stand with Harvard.
“Trump’s a bully,” he said. “There’s only one way to deal with a bully and that’s punching him in the mouth.”
However, Weinberg sophomore and Political Union Co-President Marc Quintanar said people in the debate were “getting too caught up on what’s good for the brand.”
Quintanar said that since NU has already made efforts to combat antisemitism, losing out on valuable research for “a few additional measures” is not worth it.
But Ryan said compliance may open the University to a circle of continuous backstepping.
While students had vastly different opinions by the end of the hour, many agreed that it was important to address antisemitism on campus regardless of the University’s response to the funding freeze.
After discussion, the group repeated its vote on the resolution for compliance; this time, even more people voted against the resolution: with eight votes in favor, 13 against and two abstaining.
“If Northwestern complied with any federal orders from the administration, it’s not the last you’re gonna hear from them,” Ryan said.
Correction: A previous version of this story misstated Elsa Steen Koppell’s last name and misquoted her. This article has also been updated to better represent the argument in favor of Northwestern complying with the funding freeze.
Email: a.sextou@dailynorthwestern.com
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