Signs of Authoritarianism: Attacking Higher Education

The second Trump administration, since day one, has set its sights on the nation's best and brightest universities. Countless excuses for the attacks are tossed around, including but not limited to: antisemitism, communist indoctrination, trans sports policies, or general "wokeness". However, let's call it as it is: a deep descent into authoritarianism. Indeed, the first step in the fascist playbook is to starve its people of the right to education. Colleges resist conservatism. Campuses across the nation are ripe with dissent and anger towards an administration they view as encroaching on their civil liberties. President Trump aims to punish the institutions themselves for not kissing the ring. From a cultural standpoint, universities represent political progress on a wide scale, with some of the nation's most progressive movements being born out of the dorm rooms of 20-something-year-olds. In the pursuit of crushing dissent with an iron fist, the Trump administration should expect the youth of today to put up a fight against authoritarianism.

The precedent for attacking universities has already been set. By 1933, Germany's universities were filled with exactly one ideology: Nazism. Universities across the country were shouting Hitler's name, while any sentiment regarding sympathy for Jews was entirely eradicated. The fascist state of Germany in the early 20th century recognized the danger posed by an educated population. Propaganda is harder to disseminate if people can see through it. In the United States, college campuses have demonstrated their resilience in the face of infringements on their rights. The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) was formed during the Civil Rights Movement as an effort to practice direct political protest. Shortly after, in 1970, students once again rallied around anti-war sentiment in Vietnam. The following decade, protests against South African apartheid proliferated across the nation to get institutions to divest from companies that operated in the state. Time and time again, students protesting against the state's decisions have been on the right side of history. Meanwhile, governments that suppress academic freedom are historically associated with autocracy.

The primary vehicle the Trump administration utilizes for its attacks on college is executive orders. Crucially, with the stroke of a pen, one man's will becomes the supreme law of the land. Executive orders have impacted colleges on many separate fronts. An executive order against antisemitism blatantly propelled xenophobia by calling for the monitoring, investigation, and removal of foreign students accused of antisemitic acts. An executive order against DEI threatened to add frivolous lawsuits to the laundry list of issues that colleges must deal with. However, it is important to note, the E.O. against DEI has been blocked via preliminary injunction as of April 24th. Next, anti-trans executive orders hurt institutions that allow transgender athletes by cutting their funding. Indeed, new executive orders hurt Title XI policies of the past and implement transphobic directives for colleges to follow. On immigration, Trump signed an executive order repealing the Biden administration's classification of schools, hospitals, health clinics, and churches as sensitive areas meant to have limited ICE actions. For university students, this means college campuses will be flooded with full force by ICE. Executive action has already seeped its way into an overwhelming number of different matters, affecting students' livelihoods. Precisely, that is the Trump administration's goal. With a quick barrage of executive actions, Trump is hoping that a couple of them fly directly past the courts. For example, a couple of orders have been granted preliminary injunctions, but by and large, executive action surrounding immigration has been upheld. The goal is to swarm colleges with an ultimatum: either follow the list of demands or lose funding. Are institutions falling for the bait?

Leading universities have remained steadfast while staring down the barrel of the sweeping list of demands made by the Trump Administration. Most notable of all is Harvard. Alan Garber, President of Harvard University, states, "The University will not surrender its independence or relinquish its constitutional rights". However, Trump is willing to overreach with worrisome escalations. Just one day ago, The Guardian reports that the Trump administration is threatening to strip Harvard University of its lucrative patents accumulated over the years. No comment has been made from Harvard University yet. While the nation's oldest and most prestigious university fights back, its Ivy League counterparts take a much different approach, buying into the government's demands. Columbia and Brown have both signed million-dollar settlements to restore access to federal research funding. The ultimatum is working. The next domino that could potentially fall is the University of California, Los Angeles–the nation's number one public university. The Trump administration offered a one-billion-dollar settlement to UCLA. Although the demands are not explicitly stated to the public, we can assume similar conditions are expected to be met.

In the settlements, colleges are now disclosing standardized test scores, grade-point averages, and the race of applicants. The Trump administration claims this is an effort to bring back merit-based acceptance. However, historically, when prestigious universities try to implement merit-based applications, they place too much emphasis on numbers and not enough on the student's story. For example, if a certain applicant experienced hardships and struggles that could rationalize a lower GPA and lower test scores, then their chances of admission are now much lower after this settlement. In the upcoming years, the focus on ending opportunities for the disadvantaged in favor of "merit" will be detrimental to millions of struggling students hoping to get into top universities as a way to ameliorate their conditions. The Trump administration sugar-coats its reckless actions as "ending wokeness," but really, the goal is to end upward mobility. The education of the poor is uniquely harmful to an administration that wants to further marginalize communities. Moreover, international students will be particularly affected in a myriad of ways by Trump's crackdown on immigration. As part of our current administration's fight against higher education, a common theme has been anger with the number of admits hailing from places across the globe. Thousands of current international students have had their legal status revoked as well. Who stands to benefit here? Once again, not the American people. According to a Professor of Economics at the University of California, Santa Barbara, "International college students benefit the U.S. economy by contributing billions in tuition and living expenses, helping maintain the financial viability of many universities." Trump repeats empty promises of reducing the trade deficit, yet day after day, he signs executive orders antithetical to his goal. Bringing in international students reduces the trade deficit as these students pay "out-of-state tuition fees" at substantially higher rates. America's trade surplus in the education sector has grown at an exponential rate, adding to our overall economic growth. However, Trump's xenophobic interests cloud reason, potentially costing our economy billions of dollars.

History proves that higher education is critical to a stable democracy, precisely why it has become a primary target of the current administration in power. As corruption seeps its way into every facet of government, it is important to realize that colleges are the first line of defense. Campuses across the nation take to protesting the intrusive policies our legislators push forward as an attempt to fight back. The first step the autocrat takes is to make sure no one can resist. The key to resistance is education. So, educate yourselves and those around you. Fight back, they won't expect it.