NYU leadership doubled down on its cautionary public response to President Donald Trump’s crackdown on higher education at the first University Senate meeting of the semester — a response criticized by dozens of students protesting the administration outside.
In an address to the 100-plus faculty, administrators and student representatives who comprise the senate, NYU President Linda Mills said the university was facing a “challenging and uncertain” political environment. Her chief of staff, Emma Wolfe, said the country has seen “incredibly rapid policy change” and referenced Trump’s 80-plus executive orders since taking office — many of which target research, diversity-related programs and topics relevant to higher education. She said that because many of the orders are overwhelmingly vague, blocked in court or both, administrators are hesitant to issue definitive statements on the matter.
“We don’t want to be premature in our communications, and we don’t want to be preemptive or overcorrective in our actions,” Provost Georgina Dopico said. “The situation is changing day-to-day, hour-to-hour.”
Wolfe said the university issues daily updates to leadership across schools and receives regular advice from specialized research groups, which were formed after Trump’s reelection in November. She iterated through a list of common policy concerns — including immigration, research grants and equity-focused initiatives — and directed faculty and students to pre-existing resources, wellness counseling and previous statements. Mills said the senate aimed to keep presentations brief and instead prompt attendees to discuss their concerns with administrators in confidentiality after the meeting.
Since taking office, Trump has issued several executive orders calling for universities to terminate research, departments and other initiatives related to diversity, equity and inclusion. He has also called for the deportation of “foreign students and faculty that support Hamas” and ordered substantial cuts to medical research.
“This has obviously created — for some in our community — real concerns, real uncertainties and in some cases, real fear,” Wolfe said. “But in almost every case, the picture of each policy is incomplete.”
When previously asked about the university’s immigration policy, NYU spokesperson John Beckman previously said that it “will comply with the law.” In a Thursday statement to WSN, Beckman said that immigration policies have not changed since Trump’s first term in 2017 and that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement would not be allowed on campus without a search warrant.
Still, the university’s policy has faced backlash from students calling for more explicit protections for international members of the NYU community. Around two dozen students picketed the meeting, demanding NYU declare itself a “sanctuary campus” — a formality that indicates a university has adopted policies to protect international students from threats of deportation.
The group assembled in Washington Square Park and marched to the entrance of the Kimmel Center for University Life, holding signs while chanting, “No compliance with Trump’s violence” and “Don’t give in to Trump’s lies.” Protesters also called for the university to bolster its support for transgender students, agree to maintain its DEI programming and pardon students facing disciplinary action for participating in pro-Palestinian protests last semester.
Unlike several other major universities, NYU has not updated its diversity-related offices or protocols — however, NYU Langone Health was among the first hospitals reported to deny gender-affirming care to patients following a federal executive order earlier this month. Wolfe said during the meeting that the NYU Student Health Center continues to offer its regular care for transgender students, but did not mention NYU Langone.
Danny Arensberg contributed reporting.
Contact Dharma Niles at [email protected].
