Thousands of University of California faculty and students gathered at UC campuses across the state Wednesday to condemn what they say is the Trump administration’s “assault on higher education” and to demand action from university and state leaders.
At Sproul Plaza on UC Berkeley’s campus, hundreds of faculty, staff and students gathered to decry the administration’s promises to slash the federal funding universities rely on for all kinds of research and to crack down on diversity initiatives. Trump’s team has opened investigations into more than 50 universities for alleged racial discrimination and antisemitism, sparking concerns about free speech restrictions and the targeting of international and immigrant students.
“American universities are the lifeblood of American democracy. If we are not free to do the teaching and research that sustains public life, democracy in America is lost,” said James Vernon, a UC Berkeley history professor. “We are concerned absolutely for the safety of our students and our ability to be able to teach sensitive subjects and politically controversial subjects. We’re not here to teach our students what to think. We’re here to teach our students how to think.”
The systemwide action comes as universities are reeling from the Trump administration’s plan to slash potentially billions of dollars in medical research at universities across the U.S. under a new research funding policy. The University of California also faces a U.S. Justice Department investigation over claims the university system allowed an “antisemitic hostile work environment” on its campuses and UC Berkeley, UC Davis, UC San Diego and UC Santa Barbara face civil rights investigations into antisemitism on their campuses. UC Berkeley is also one of 45 universities being investigated by the Trump administration for allegedly using “racial preferences and stereotypes in education programs and activities.”
The investigations follow a U.S. Education Department warning to universities to dismantle diversity programs and race-based practices or risk losing federal funding — a threat the Trump administration has upheld. Earlier this month, the administration canceled more than $400 million in federal grants to Columbia University due to “inaction” related to “persistent harassment” of Jewish students on campus. And Wednesday morning the Trump administration paused $175 million in federal funding to the University of Pennsylvania over its inclusion of transgender athletes in women’s sports.
The UC systemwide event also comes in the wake of the arrest of pro-Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil at Columbia University over his role in protests against the Israel-Hamas war. Khalil, who is of Palestinian descent and was raised in Syria, had his green card revoked by the administration.
For some UC Berkeley faculty members, the crackdown at Columbia and UPenn serves as a stark warning that Cal could be next.
“Watching what has gone down (at Columbia) and the unlawful and heavy-handed way that the administration has sought to intervene and has used federal funding as a lever to attempt to control freedom of speech on campus is the main motivating factor here,” said Amanda Goldstein, a UC Berkeley English professor. “We stand in solidarity with these events at campuses across the country, understanding that we are next and hoping that we can be a model of standing together.”
Faculty across UC demanded system leaders publicly denounce Trump’s “assaults on higher education, academic freedom and civil liberties” and provide full legal and financial support for UC community members impacted by immigration raids, travel bans, terminations and funding cuts.
Faculty also urged the California legislature to condemn the Trump administration’s “attack on public education,” reject the cuts to UC and California State University funding that Gov. Gavin Newsom announced earlier this year in his proposed budget and pledge to cover all federal research funds withheld by the Trump administration.
At the UC Board of Regents meeting held Wednesday at UCLA, UC President Michael Drake spoke of the “alarming developments” in higher education and said the potential reduction or elimination of research funding and grants would disrupt academic research throughout the university system, lead to job loss and slow scientific and medical breakthroughs. Research at UC contributed to the first flu vaccine, the first radiation treatment for cancer and critical discoveries in treating heart disease.
Drake said the system would be forced to implement a hiring freeze — similar to Stanford University, Harvard University and the University of Washington — in preparation for serious potential funding impacts at both the state and federal level.
UC faculty also called for collaboration among colleges and universities across the nation to defend academic freedom and civil rights.
“Berkeley is among many targets,” said Mara Loveman, a sociology professor at UC Berkeley. “Universities across this country need to organize and work together…to resist the un-American attacks of this government on public and private higher education on the right to teach and to speak and to learn.”
