How college presidents are quietly resisting federal attacks on higher education

Where is the president of the university? I’ve heard questions many times over the past few weeks as federal attacks on higher education escalate. Obviously, there is no visible and voice protest of institutional leaders that raises problems and passive assumptions.

But I have witnessed the president, at least those who lead independent and mission-centric institutions I am familiar with, are indeed doing the work. As some suggest, the relative lack of public statements is not a sign of cowardice. It is many university presidents who correctly concluded that quiet resistance rather than public protest is a more effective strategy.

The media portrayed the recent presidential order and the relic of the U.S. Department of Education as a threat to institutions, but the most immediate danger is a threat to students.

It is their free learning and assembly students are under attack. It is the students who are threatened by federal Pell grants and opportunities to earn a living. When a student’s program that is critical to their educational success is closed, a student who does not like the current government’s words or concepts may be cited. It was the students who lost when they were preparing to announce a recruitment freeze in public service career. It is the students’ freedom of learning and assembly that is under attack. It was the loss of students while providing funding for the research lab, and their

The campus president knows that in this climate, protests can backfire, attracting anger from those who have the right to target individual students and individual campuses. Now, what is most important to campus leaders right now is to exert harm to the most vulnerable people on campus. However, for many of them, resistance is active, effective, and takes many forms.

Many presidents are holding this path and refuse to pre-trial with vague and harmful orders that have not yet been considered in the court. They made many difficult decisions on how to continue educating students whose families are threatened by eviction or unemployment. They are consulting and raising funds to replace threatened federal scholarships for those in future careers. They are calling anxious parents, acting as a beacon of peace amidst chaos and educating the community about the impact of attacks on teaching and learning.

In addition to campus work, many presidents are actively working to influence the remains of legislative politics. Hundreds of university leaders Once on Capitol Hill In the past few weeks, meeting with members of Congress urged immediate action. Thousands of people are connecting with their state and local representatives to advocate for students from various governments.

The President’s active participation in supporting legal challenges that have so far proven to be the most effective way to stop illegal and unconstitutional orders. They are providing the evidence and information they need to file lawsuits to organizations that file lawsuits and developing strategies with civil rights lawyers. Some are designated participants, while others participate in these lawsuits through the higher education organizations they participate in.

The president of a university is not a whole. Contrary to popular portrayals, they are not politically the same. No wonder their answers were different. However, people I know are very concerned about what is crucial to protecting student success: financial aid, the atmosphere of free inquiries, support for students of all identities, and freedom of speech.

There may be more albums and parades – there are indeed some university presidents currently participating in these forms of protest. But for now, resistance seems to be a more efficient process. It is quieter and usually more invisible. So far, this is a lot of real higher education actions.