Luke Clark Moody, a senior majoring in international affairs and Neha Darisi, a senior majoring in anthropology and international affairs, are members of the GWU Left Coalition.
It’s been over two months since the Department of Justice sent a letter to GW administrators detailing findings from an antisemitism investigation they launched in February. The letter levels baseless accusations that GW violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act and threatens to “enforce its findings” against the University unless it enters a voluntary resolution agreement. In response, GW has indicated interest in negotiating with President Donald Trump’s administration, beginning a resolution process that — at universities like Columbia University — has targeted academic freedoms, held hostage research funding and eroded basic protections for students, faculty and staff. This nation-wide assault on higher education has escalated alongside attacks against migrant communities across the country.
The federal government is forcing its way onto our campus, threatening those within and adjacent to the University community and attacking foundational principles of institutional independence. GW’s administration must take a stand by rejecting a resolution with the DOJ, regardless of any further intimidation from the Trump administration and implementing the sanctuary campus demands outlined by the GWU Left Coalition. These include but are not limited to banning Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers from campus, protecting free speech and academic freedom and establishing democratic governance for students, faculty and staff.
The DOJ’s attempt to coerce GW into a “voluntary agreement” poses an existential threat to the institutional integrity of our university and the well-being of students and workers. The severity of this threat is foreshadowed by resolutions signed by other universities. In March, Columbia agreed to pay a $221 million fine, dismantle certain DEI programs and submit to a complete federal review of the Middle Eastern, South Asian and African Studies Department — permitting the Trump administration to obtain information on hiring processes and enforce curricular oversight. In July, Brown University signed a voluntary resolution including, among other things, stipulations limiting gender-affirming care and the participation of trans athletes in collegiate sports.
GW’s willingness to negotiate with the DOJ reflects a larger pattern of inaction in response to Trump’s escalations. We have seen Trump’s anti-immigrant campaign play out on university campuses since he stepped back into power in January. The politically motivated arrests of Mahmoud Khalil and Mohsen Mahdawi at Columbia and Badar Khan Suri at Georgetown University, among others, showed how far the Trump administration is willing to go to silence political dissent. These abductions were followed by a wave of attacks on international students, including thousands of revoked VISAS and terminated SEVIS statuses — including confirmed status terminations at GW, some of which officials confirmed the government later restored.
The GW administration is responsible for protecting students and workers but instead pursues avenues to negotiate with the fascist Trump administration. Students and workers are the primary stakeholders in these negotiations, yet we have received functionally zero communication, much less a role in determining its outcome.
In University President Ellen Granberg’s Oct. 15 email, she attempted to put the community at ease by outlining her thoughts. However, her remarks were vague and condescending, telling community members to trust her without giving any substantive reassurances, solutions or guarantees. An administration intentionally obfuscating the negotiation process is not protecting its students and workers but rather its financial bottom line.
The agreements signed by Columbia and Brown give insight into what the community should expect if GW capitulates to the Trump administration. Entire departments’ curricula would likely be reviewed, workers would be at further risk of firings and anything understood as DEI — like student organizations, scholarships, events and initiatives — would face scrutiny, funding cuts or termination. Cooperation with federal agencies could extend to ICE being invited to campus and the forced reduction of admissions for international students. The material impacts of GW signing an unfavorable resolution cannot be understated. Both the academic integrity of the University and the immediate safety of our community are on the line. Our university so willing to enter negotiations is a betrayal of its students and workers.
No degree of capitulation will subdue Trump’s agenda. If the University community cares about freedom of speech, thought and expression as well as academic integrity and protecting our most vulnerable community members, we must make our voices heard. In the GWU Left Coalition’s demands for a sanctuary campus, we call on GW to defend free speech, academic freedom and the right to political dissent, ensuring our campus remains safe and free.
In the spring, when international students’ safety was on the line, GW’s response was sporadic, incomplete and difficult to access. Students were unable to assess risk, as it took the administration months to release the number of students affected by visa terminations or status changes. The advice for at-risk students was tacked on to the end of the federal updates, telling students to make appointments with the International Services Office, however, students informed us that appointments were completely booked. The other suggestion GW made was to contact the GW Law clinic for legal support. These responses were insufficient and lacked material support in students’ time of need.
GW did not say they would guarantee housing for terminated SEVIS students nor did they commit to ensuring deported students could finish their degrees online. The administration did not publicly advocate for those at risk or resist federal investigations into international students. This lack of communication condescends students and workers, separating us from the decisions that matter most. In the GWU Left Coalition’s demands, we call for GW to protect its community by providing legal, financial and academic support for any students or workers facing harassment or violence related to immigration status.
GW’s administration knows the severity of these attacks but has repeatedly failed to effectively communicate and provide meaningful protections. As D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser capitulates to Trump’s encroachment on D.C.’s sovereignty, so too does Granberg. National guardsmen who have been patrolling our metro stop now loiter outside our classrooms and residential buildings and surveil our protests. Federal agents are on campus more and more frequently. Metropolitan Police Department is called in to suppress student speech. ICE raids GW property, and we are directed to the D.C. Federalization page where all GW Administration says is they are “monitoring the Administration’s actions.” By opening an avenue for negotiations, not providing resources to students and allowing feds on campus, Granberg and the GW administration have consistently capitulated to Trump. Granberg and the GW administration have consistently capitulated to Trump. This is done in the interest of shareholders, with the negative impacts exclusively affecting students, workers and community members.
The sanctuary campus demands GW ban ICE, MPD and all other external law enforcement from campus, refusing access without a judicial warrant. The University community deserves clear communication and substantive commitments. Anything short of fulfilling this demand is GW’s administration failing to protect our community.
We must understand our conditions and act. We know intuitively that the administration only cares about our tuition money. If we want protections and guarantees, we must demand our voices be heard. GW’s administration has not fulfilled its obligation to students and workers. Instead of standing up for our rights to free speech or supporting our most vulnerable community members, GW has chosen to submit to the federal government’s directives.
Creativity, freedom of thought and expression and genuine knowledge production all require risk. They require us to question authority and challenge power structures. A university unwilling to facilitate such critical thought is no university at all. GW has consistently avoided its responsibility and failed to protect student safety, speech, thought and expression. This approach will only further endanger students and workers. We, the University community, must demand that GW do better.
The GWU Left Coalition has outlined specific policy recommendations for GW to implement as a step toward a genuinely democratic institution: the Sanctuary Campus Demands. In the absence of leadership, the GWU Left Coalition calls on all community members committed to keeping GW safe and free to join our campaign. For updates, follow the GW Socialist Action Initiative, GWU Students for Justice in Palestine and GWU Anti-Zionist Jewish Student Front on Instagram. Read the demands, sign the student letter resisting fascism, talk about the federal encroachment in class and join organizations fighting for a democratic university. This is our campus, this is our community, this is our university. We must make it so.
