UCLA takes firm stance on demands

UCLA Chancellor Julio Frenk says the university will address "valid" concerns of the Trump administration and be "fully compliant" with the law, but will defend the campus against federal civil rights investigations and funding suspensions.

- JAWEED KALEEM

UCLA Chancellor Julio Frenk at his inauguration ceremony in June. Thursday, he defended campus efforts to support Jewish communities.

(LUKE JOHNSON Los Angeles Times)

In a wide-ranging online appearance Thursday evening hosted by a Los Angeles-based Jewish civic group, Frenk said the University of California was still considering suing the Trump administration over its August demand that UCLA pay a $1.2-billion fine and make sweeping changes in its diversity programs, admissions practices and policies governing international students and gender identity on campus.

But, for now, he said, UC officials are negotiating with the Department of Justice and will staunchly uphold core academic freedoms to "assure that there's no government interference in who we hire, who we admit, and what we teach or research." Making his first extensive public remarks on a nearly two-month saga that has shaken the UC system over possible wider federal actions and funding claw backs, Frenk said he was not "directly" involved in government talks and had no "visibility" into how long the process would take.

But he said he was taking firm actions against antisemitism allegations at UCLA.

"We believe in talking and trying to make our case, where we try to demonstrate that we are serious about fighting antisemitism, that suspending research is not a way to deal with that problem," Frenk said.

Jews United for Democracy and Justice hosted the event, titled, "Can America's universities survive the current assault?" The group formed during President Trump's first term in response to travel bans that initially targeted Muslim-majority nations after the president promised to ban all immigration of Muslims to the U.S.