The Trump administration's settlement with Columbia clarifies the stakes for anyone weighing whether to fight its demands or concede.

Some acknowledge that the university had no choice and that the deal could be worse, but many fear that it sets some dangerous precedents.

For Columbia, the cost of mollifying Trump was steep. Claire Shipman, the university's president, agreed the school would pay a $200 million fine to resolve funding disputes, plus an additional $21 million designated for university employees who said they'd faced discrimination or harm amid campus protests related to the Israel-Hamas war.