Colleges Wonder if They Will Be ‘the Enemy’ Under Trump

The New York Times ^ | Nov. 12, 2024, 2:39 p.m. ET | Vimal Patel and Sharon Otterman

[E. Pluribus Unum]

For many years, Republicans portrayed colleges as bastions of leftism, awash in bias against conservatives and impervious to change.

With Donald J. Trump’s victory to a second presidential term and a Congress potentially under unified G.O.P. control, Republicans are now poised to escalate their efforts to root out what they see as progressive ideology in higher education.

The return to power of Mr. Trump comes at a vulnerable moment for higher education. Universities have been under increasing pressure from lawmakers, while public confidence in colleges has fallen. Last year, two Ivy League presidents resigned following their widely panned performances before Congressional panels that grilled them about how they handled pro-Palestinian activists on their campus. Other top university leaders have resigned amid criticism over protest responses.

Mr. Trump has said he thought that colleges needed to be reclaimed from “Marxist maniacs,” and his running mate, JD Vance, has described universities as “the enemy.” (Both men attended Ivy League institutions.)

Republicans have often trained their focus mainly on highly selective campuses, but their proposed policies could have a wider impact. The Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 — an outline for Mr. Trump’s second term that he has tried to distance himself from — calls for sweeping changes, like privatizing all student loans, rolling back protections for transgender students, and paring back diversity efforts on campus.

“This is a moment of enormity for American higher education,” said Lynn Pasquerella, president of the American Association of Colleges and Universities. “Many of President Trump’s top advisers are the architects of Project 2025, which seeks to dismantle higher education, not reform it, and to replace what they perceive as woke Marxist ideology with their own conservative ideology.”

[Recovering Ex-hippie]

perfect..thats all we need

[9YearLurker]

Should be.

[FreedomPoster]

Well, Hillsdale will not be.

The rest . . . ?

[grumpygresh]

All these people should only expect justice

1. If they haven’t broken the law, they have nothing to be afraid of.
2. No one is above the law.

That’s what they told Trump, conservatives, and his supporters.
Expect the left to live up to their rules.

[SauronOfMordor]

They say Mr Trump, even though Trump is a former President and currently president-elect.

While NEVER referring to Obama as anything but President Obama.

[Alas Babylon!]

I hope so.

[SauronOfMordor]

During Trump’s first term, there was a government web site that listed starting salaries by major for colleges. It disappeared under Biden.

I would like it restored and enhanced.

[MinorityRepublican]

There should be no federal funds for all Universities in the U.S.

If the Feds are supposed to spend the $$$, Trump Administration can withhold them the next 4 years.

If Gavin Newsom gets elected in 2028, he'll be allowed to use the federal funds.

[goodnesswins]

The Gig is up...all the losers and leeches need to be gone....learn to code.

[KC_Conspirator]

They are the enemy in a sense. They have their own left wing bigotries and create brainwashed leftist debt slaves.

[KC_Conspirator]

Would be a shame if they were applied to student debt.

[Enterprise]

If any of you haven’t watched Trump’s plan to reclaim our educational institutions in Post #2, I’m begging you to take the time. It’s only a couple of minutes. Trump said near the end of the video that he will have his DOJ sue colleges which have engaged in discrimination, and that he will sue to have fines equal to their endowments, and that he will have those funds distributed to the people who have been discriminated against. PLEASE WATCH! Thanks SunkenCiv!

[Nextrush]

I caught that video last night. Yeah he’s talking tough for openers. Plenty of weak people in this world so the intimidation factor alone gets results.

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

Some of them will be. And some of the smaller collages who teach nursing, engineering and practical skills will not be.

It seems to be the Ivies, the state schools and the "liberal arts" collages that are the ones to avoid. It is sad but it seems that if the collage offers a law degree you should expect them, with a few rare exceptions, to be so liberal you want to throw up.

A school that has a good work/study program is generally ok.

[blitz128]

Nice we have to take them back and make the great again 🇺🇸

[Enterprise]

Thankfully the colleges have plenty of blankies, play doh, coloring books and puppies for the staff as well as the students. Maybe some adult diapers for the older professors might be a nice touch.

[GOPJ]

The New York Times rewrites left wing government propaganda...

Have they no shame?

[Danie_2023]

“Have they no shame?”

Why would they start now?

NY Slimes is and has been their fitting moniker for a generation or longer.

[SMARTY]

Colleges pride themselves on MAKING themselves the enemy of the government.... WHILE sucking up billions of taxpayer revenue

[SunkenCiv]

My pleasure. #3. :^)