[HN Gopher] Administration seeking $1B settlement from UCLA
       ___________________________________________________________________
        
       Administration seeking $1B settlement from UCLA
        
       Author : SubiculumCode
       Score  : 28 points
       Date   : 2025-08-08 21:09 UTC (1 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (www.cnn.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (www.cnn.com)
        
       | strangeloops85 wrote:
       | Really outrageous extortion. UCLA and UC as a whole are running
       | budget deficits and facing reduced state support (as well as the
       | grant cancelations). There's simply no money for this and the
       | white house knows it.
        
       | SubiculumCode wrote:
       | If they decide to settle, even if for a much smaller amount, its
       | a big L for the UC system and the nation. The past Universities
       | were much smaller, but the UC system is a beast. They must fight
       | this or we are really going down the road of a politicized and
       | neutered academia (like in Russia). This along with the recent
       | Executive Order claiming to be able to require a political
       | appointee to approve every research grant, we are going down the
       | wrong road.
       | 
       | I am constantly thinking about this modern misunderstanding of
       | what the framers of the Constitution meant by "Executive Power"
       | is simple "to execute the law".
       | 
       | "Article II Vests Executive Power, Not the Royal Prerogative"
       | [1][2] is critical and needs to be set front stage.
       | 
       | [1] https://repository.law.umich.edu/articles/2062/
       | [2]https://www.lawfaremedia.org/article/the-meaning-of-
       | article-...
        
         | homeonthemtn wrote:
         | Blame Congress. There are 3 branches of power meant to keep the
         | others in check. That's not happened in...20, 30 years now?
        
           | jonnycomputer wrote:
           | Why not both?
        
           | SubiculumCode wrote:
           | Yes. But there are systemic reasons that this has become the
           | case.
           | 
           | 1. For the house, since 1932 or so, the number of House
           | Representatives has been fixed, meaning what used to be
           | 30-50k citizens per representative, is quickly approaching 1M
           | citizens:1 ratio. Instead of knocking on your neighbor's
           | doors, you need to beg for money to run an expensive
           | campaign.
           | 
           | 2. Starting with Radio and TV and into hyperdrive with the
           | internet, national political figures like the President can
           | command a huge amount of political donations to be under
           | their own control. That money can and is used to threaten
           | House Representatives with getting primaried by the
           | President, see 1. above.
           | 
           | 3. As the law article I posted in the parent comment above
           | thoroughly and convincingly investigated, the meaning of
           | Executive Powers has changed from "Congress tells me what to
           | do, and I do it" to I am a mini-king. Presidents have been
           | able to push this growth as well, because see 2, then see 1.
        
             | Amezarak wrote:
             | Why would you suppose that a larger House would help keep
             | the Executive in check? It seems more likely that the
             | effect would be to dilute any individual House member's
             | power and strengthen the party system.
             | 
             | > the meaning of Executive Powers has changed from
             | "Congress tells me what to do, and I do it" to I am a mini-
             | king.
             | 
             | I don't think John Adams, Lincoln, or FDR held anything
             | close to the view that "Congress tells me what to do, and I
             | do it."
        
       | dfee wrote:
       | Beyond the headline - the context seems to be this:
       | 
       | > A draft of a proposed agreement sent to the school Friday and
       | obtained by CNN requires UCLA to pay the federal government $1
       | billion over multiple installments, along with a $172 million
       | claims fund for people impacted by violations of Title VII of the
       | Civil Rights Act, which prohibits employment discrimination based
       | on race, color, religion, sex or national origin.
       | 
       | > The agreement the administration is proposing - which, if
       | agreed to, would mark the biggest settlement it's received from a
       | higher education institution -- requires a resolution monitor to
       | oversee the school, as well as a new senior administrator who
       | will be focused on compliance with anti-discrimination laws.
       | 
       | > The proposed agreement prohibits overnight demonstrations and
       | calls on the school to revise its policies and procedures on
       | protests. It also requires UCLA to discontinue race and
       | ethnicity-based scholarships and provide the resolution monitor
       | with admissions data.
       | 
       | > The proposal would ensure single-sex housing for women on
       | campus and ensure athletic recognition for female athletes in
       | women's sports. The UCLA hospital and medical school will also be
       | expected to stop providing gender-affirming care.
       | 
       | > In return, UCLA's funding would be restored and the school
       | would be eligible for future federal grants and contracts.
        
         | jonnycomputer wrote:
         | And to stop providing gender affirming care.
        
           | SubiculumCode wrote:
           | Not to mention that the lawsuit in question has already been
           | settled [1] https://jewishjournal.com/news/383073/settlement-
           | reached-in-...
        
       | jonnycomputer wrote:
       | >The UCLA hospital and medical school will also be expected to
       | stop providing gender-affirming care.
       | 
       | What does this have to do with anything that UCLA is accused of?
       | This isn't about discrimination. This is about Trump forcing
       | America's institutions to bend to his will. It's about power, and
       | nothing else.
        
         | spondylosaurus wrote:
         | It's "discrimination" when it helps people the admin doesn't
         | like, but it's mandatory to actually discriminate against
         | people the admin doesn't like.
        
           | sundaeofshock wrote:
           | I wish people would stop using the term admin in relationship
           | to Trump. This is the Trump Regime and we should all act
           | accordingly.
        
             | jonnycomputer wrote:
             | the problem is is that doing so makes you automatically
             | lose credibility with a large part of the public.
             | 
             | another problem is that Trump is not (yet) a dictator and
             | we are (still, for now) a Constitutional democracy.
        
       | shortrounddev2 wrote:
       | Any university that settles with that fascist are cowards at
       | best, and committing bribery at worst
        
       ___________________________________________________________________
       (page generated 2025-08-08 23:01 UTC)