A national, Democratic-led coalition is calling for the removal of the University of California president James Milliken after the university provided the names of hundreds of faculty members and students to the Trump administration as part of an investigation into alleged antisemitism.
The petition described UC’s move as a violation of academic freedom and said the university system “disgracefully undermined” the First Amendment by sharing the faculty, staff and student names. It is sponsored by RootsAction, College Democrats of America, High School Democrats of America and the left-wing political action committee Progressive Democrats of America.
Milliken has served as university president since Aug. 1, when he took over from former president Michael Drake, who had been in the role since 2020. Before that, Milliken had been chancellor of the University of Texas beginning in 2018.
Related Articles
What to know about the H-1B visa Trump has targeted with $100,000 fees, generating confusion, fear
Newsom signs ‘Safe Schools Act’ taking unprecedented action against ICE
Donald Trump’s pricey H-1B visas alarm prospects aiming for Silicon Valley jobs
More California students applied for FAFSA despite troubling circumstances
More California high school seniors applied for college financial aid this year than last
“The UC regents should send a clear message to Milliken that he’s not in Texas anymore,” said Norman Solomon, the national director of the online activist initiative RootsAction. “And the clearest way to convey the message would be to show him the door.”
Since he returned to office in January, President Donald Trump has criticized perceived antisemitism in schools across the country, which critics have derided as an excuse to exert more control over universities. The Trump administration recently expanded a probe into the University of California over alleged antisemitism on its school campuses and demanded an additional $1 billion fine and major campus changes to settle antisemitism claims at UCLA.
Gov. Gavin Newsom described the administration’s demands as “extortion” and said the state will sue to protect the UC system.
In the spring, the Trump administration started an Office of Civil Rights investigation into alleged antisemitism at UC Berkeley and other UC campuses. UC Berkeley and the University of California currently face several federal investigations over allegations they failed to protect Jewish students and faculty from harassment and discrimination. But Pro-Palestine protesters have called the investigations an attempt to chill free speech and crackdown on student protests.
The email to impacted UC Berkeley campus community members said the names were sent to the Trump administration because the Office of Civil Rights had demanded documents and files related to alleged antisemitic incidents.
Two of the UC petition organizers –– College Democrats of America and High School Democrats of America — are affiliates of the Democratic National Committee, the governing body of the Democratic Party. Leaders of the groups have seats on the DNC.
Solomon of RootsAction also urged Newsom — who appoints members of the UC Regents and also serves as a voting member of the board as governor — to speak out against Milliken’s “outrageous action.”
“The state of California is now deeply implicated in assaulting academic freedom, with its university turning over names of students and faculty to the Trump administration in a 1950s blacklist style,” Solomon said. “What kind of Democratic governor fails to challenge such an assault on the First Amendment by his state’s university system?”
The Governor’s Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
It was not clear how many people had signed the petition, which launched Tuesday. In a statement, UC Board of Regents Chair Janet Reilly said the Regents “have full confidence in President Milliken and his ability to continue to navigate the challenges ahead and to lead the University of California.”
Reilly said UC “will always defend free speech and academic freedom” and has a legal obligation to comply with federal law.
“Refusing to do so would be without legal basis and could cost the UC system billions in federal funding,” Reilly said. “We cannot put the entire UC system and all who depend on us at risk by ignoring our legal obligations.”
Fremont’s Sunjay Muralitharan, the national president of College Democrats of America — which represents over 100,000 students — as well as a DNC member, accused the Trump administration of intimidation tactics and censorship “reminiscent of a fascist regime.”
“While they send our hard-earned taxpayer dollars to bolster genocide abroad and neglect those struggling at home, young Americans with the moral clarity to challenge this injustice are stripped of their First Amendment rights,” Muralitharan said. “But College Democrats will not stand for this intimidation, and nor should any educational institution.”
