Washington, Aug 9 (HS): The Trump administration has proposed a $1 billion settlement to the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in the midst of a tense dispute over federal funding. Officials from the University of California school system have rejected the proposal, calling it unacceptable and warning it would have a devastating impact on the nation's largest public university system.

The Justice Department had already frozen $584 million in federal grants to UCLA, citing a civil rights investigation. According to DOJ findings, the university exhibited “deliberate indifference” toward creating a hostile educational environment for Jewish and Israeli students, violating federal civil rights laws. The probe focused on events following the October 7, 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel, after which UCLA allegedly failed to adequately address harassment complaints from Jewish and Israeli students.

Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi stressed that such violations would not be tolerated, saying UCLA would be forced to “pay a heavy price” for endangering Jewish Americans. Similar investigations across the UC system are ongoing.

UCLA Chancellor Julio Frenk said the university will work to restore the suspended research funds, warning of serious consequences for researchers and national interests dependent on UCLA’s groundbreaking research and scholarship

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar