Via @nytimes, the Trump administration has launched a new civil rights investigation into Cornell, focusing on whether the school allowed a hostile environment for Jewish and Israeli employees. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sent surveys this week to current and former workers, asking for accounts of their experiences with campus protests and university training programs. This latest probe follows a massive $60 million settlement Cornell reached with the federal government in November to restore hundreds of millions in research funding. While that agreement closed pending investigations, it left the door open for the EEOC to continue its own independent inquiries into the university’s labor practices. University officials expressed surprise at the survey and claimed they were not consulted on its content. Despite this, the university confirmed it had already handed over employee contact information to the government last summer. This disclosure has triggered significant backlash from faculty advocates who argue the university failed its basic duty to protect worker privacy. Critics on campus view the ongoing federal interest as a targeted campaign to chill speech and monitor those who disagree with current foreign policy. By surrendering private data to federal investigators, university leadership has left employees vulnerable to direct government outreach on their personal devices. Many in the Cornell community see the move as a betrayal of trust and a sign that the administration is prioritizing federal optics over the safety of its own people.