Ideological capture of universities is a very real issue. But the administration’s overreach threatens the first chance for substantive reform in decades.
The credibility of elite universities has fallen far, and not without reason.
For decades, admissions offices singled out Asian American applicants for unfairly high admissions standards while pretending to care about fairness and “equity.” Academic journals, blinded by ideology, fell victim to obvious hoax papers on topics such as rape culture in dog parks. Diversity, equity and inclusion statements became mandatory loyalty oaths to progressive causes during faculty hiring. And after the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas terrorist attacks, many university administrators allowed protesting students to disrupt classes, set up unauthorized encampments and destroy university property.
But in its conflict with elite universities, the Trump administration’s urge to “move fast and break things,” often without regard for the law, threatens to blow the first real chance for substantive higher education reform in decades.
Continue reading the entire piece here at Politico
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Neetu Arnold is a Paulson Policy Analyst at the Manhattan Institute.
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