Antifa Attack Causes $1M Damage at UW; Columbia Faces Mahdawi Accusations and Semester Turmoil Amid Trump Pressure on Harvard

In early May 2025, the University of Washington (UW) experienced a violent attack by Antifa extremists, resulting in over $1 million in damage to campus property and science equipment, including fires set in the engineering building. Following the attack, a rally was held on campus by far-left groups expressing support for Hamas and endorsing violence. This event has drawn condemnation from advocates for the Jewish community. Concurrently, tensions have escalated at Columbia University, where freed Palestinian student Mohsen Mahdawi accused the institution of inciting violence, torturing pro-Palestinian students, and siding with the Trump administration amid a crackdown on pro-Palestinian protesters.

The unrest at Columbia also included chaotic anti-Israel protests, leading to arrests, including that of the daughter of two American actors. Under pressure from the Trump administration, Columbia University ended its semester amid turmoil. Meanwhile, Harvard University has become a focal point in the Trump administration's broader campaign against what it terms "woke ideology" in higher education. Critics argue that Harvard has fostered an ideological monoculture hostile to viewpoint diversity, while the administration's actions against the university pose a greater threat to academic freedom. Discussions among academics highlight differing interpretations of academic freedom, with some suggesting that faculty dominance over university governance conflicts with the principle of viewpoint diversity. These developments have contributed to a climate of fear and anxiety in other institutions such as the University of Michigan, as the Trump administration intensifies its scrutiny of elite colleges and their endowments.