The Art of Doing Nothing
What Muhammad Ali’s rope-a-dope can teach Columbia about beating Trump without throwing a punch.
To every person thinking of donning a keffiyeh, masking up for a protest, or staging another sit-in, I have a word of advice: Don’t. It’s not working. In fact, doing nothing might be your best strategy.
The vision of America that Columbia students had prior to November 5 could not be more different than the hell they seem to believe they are currently in, and we haven’t even made it past the first hundred days yet. Despite anti-Israel activists who claimed that there was no difference between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump during the campaign, there has been a palpable tenor shift with this new administration. Trump has already banned transgender female athletes from participating in school sports. He has compelled universities to terminate their DEI programs. And most recently, he has begun deporting “pro-Hamas” international students.
Every day, left-wing Columbia students are plastering a new infographic on their Instagram stories. However, this digital activism, which is reminiscent of the black square trend of 2020, does not satisfy our most radical students’ appetite for action. In March, protestors staged sit-ins in both Milbank Hall and the Milstein Center. They have organized multiple “ICE off campus” rallies, even advocating for the cancellation of classes and midterms. On April 2, several protestors from Columbia Jewish Voice for Peace locked themselves to campus gates in solidarity with Mahmoud Khalil, who was arrested by ICE on March 8. They demanded “to know the names of the Columbia trustees who gave Mahmoud’s name to ICE.”
All of this is misguided. In fact, this kind of activism will only motivate further attacks on Columbia and higher education at large from the Trump administration.
On March 7, the Trump administration announced they were freezing $400 million of research grants and contracts between the federal government and Columbia because the school has failed to “fulfill their civil rights responsibilities to protect Jewish students from harassment and antisemitism.” Further escalation could put all $5 billion of Columbia’s federal grant commitments at risk, jeopardizing the livelihoods of hundreds of individuals who depend on Columbia University.
The truth is that complying with federal laws is the only option if Columbia wants to avoid further financial hardships and sustain its research operations.
Naturally, many students feel that this passive and arguably defeatist response is wrong. However, there lies a potential strategy in Secretary of Education Linda McMahon’s former realm: the WWE.
In 1974, Muhammad Ali pioneered a new boxing strategy—the rope-a-dope—long before it would become caricatured by the WWE. Ali was to face George Foreman, the world heavyweight champion at the time, during the “Rumble in the Jungle.” Despite his relative physical weakness, Ali ultimately won the match through sheer determination and commitment.
The rope-a-dope technique entails the weaker opponent temporarily accepting defeat and bracing for an incoming barrage of blows from their stronger opponent. Ali endured seven rounds of beatings by Foreman, who was known for his extremely forceful puncher. By the final eighth round, Foreman was physically worn out. Ali seized his opportunity and knocked out Foreman despite his underdog status.
Had Ali tried actively to knock out Foreman prematurely, he would have surely lost. Like Ali, Columbia must recognize its weaker position relative to the federal government and maneuver within that capacity.
Active resistance could further jeopardize other federal grants to Columbia, such as Pell Grants and other forms of federal student financial aid. Therefore, it is imperative that Columbia quietly accepts the Trump administration’s punitive measures and its students do not stage large-scale protests. Realizing that Columbia is not in a place to resist is the necessary first step of the rope-a-dope technique. Otherwise, the University risks exhausting itself financially and reputationally before it ever has a chance to mount a counter-strike on the Trump administration.
Columbia students, and liberals nationally, may just see political results without even acting. In this moment, being passive means Republicans will easily pass their plans, forcing them to defend the merits of their policy platform. Yes, Columbia would be hurt by, say, the dismantling of the Department of Education, but so would almost every public primary and secondary school in America. Allowing the Trump administration to fulfill its campaign promises would exhaust the Republican Party’s support, akin to a stronger opponent who overexerts and loses steam.
There are signs that the Columbia administration has already adopted the rope-a-dope strategy. After the federal government announced the $400 million funding freeze, then-Interim University President Katrina Armstrong wrote in a statement, “We will follow the law, as has always been the case.” On March 21, Armstrong announced that the University was giving in to many of the Trump administration’s preconditions for beginning negotiations over restoring the funding, including instituting a version of a face covering ban, centralizing the University Judicial Board, and empowering some public safety officers with arrest powers.
Similarly, on February 6, Columbia Athletics removed its transgender athlete inclusion policy from its website after Trump issued an executive order barring transgender athletes from competing in female sports. The next day, rather than resisting the policy change, Peter Pilling, Columbia’s athletic director, simply wrote in an email to student-athletes, “While we further evaluate these new policies and their potential impact to our community, you may see changes and updates to our webpage.” While the athletics department received blowback from Columbia students for Pilling’s email, his response is an exemplar for what everyone should do: Follow the law while maintaining your values.
Students should recognize that they are now early in round one of the political boxing match, where the barrage of blows seems overwhelming—but they need to remember it will not last. Students should not forget the real reason they enrolled. Right now, the best form of resistance is securing your own economic and educational future.
Choosing passivity is still exercising agency. And sometimes, it’s the only viable option. It is only after getting beaten down that a proper rope-a-dope can be performed. Keep the “activism” against the Trump administration in your Instagram stories, on laptop stickers, or other mediums that do not jeopardize the livelihoods of anyone in the Columbia community who relies on federal grants.
Like in boxing, victory in this fight requires discipline. Demonstrate some.
Mr. Troy is a junior at Columbia College studying political science and a staff writer for Sundial.
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Sort-of adjacent to your point: I think that all of this presents a useful opportunity for the school to evaluate what led it to this point and potentially course-correct (while being able to blame Trump for actions that may be unpopular with more radical students/faculty/etc, allowing the folks in charge to potentially redirect some of the furor away from them and towards the President). Following federal law is always important, of course, and I think that moves like the masking ban may help the school crack down on intimidation, law-breaking, etc. And refocusing the university, in the eyes of the public, on research as opposed to activism will hopefully help rehabilitate their image, preventing similar problems from arising in the future.
I’ve got a better idea: Accept the obvious–that Columbia is a hotbed of antisemitism and Jew-hatred—hatred that wouldn’t be tolerated against any other group, and work to change this deeply corrosive situation. This approach would be far more likely to restore peace to the university and enable it to resume its core educational mission, to the benefit of all students.