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

Talks in Washington. An expert on negotiation. A balancing act. The university chose cooperation over litigation, a strategy both pilloried and praised.

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.