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Lexi Lona Cochrane
The Hill
Excerpt: President Trump said Tuesday that he will seek to block the federal funding for colleges and universities “that allow illegal protests” on their campuses.
“All Federal Funding will STOP for any College, School, or University that allows illegal protests. Agitators will be imprisoned/or permanently sent back to the country from which they came,” the president wrote in a Truth Social post, though he did not specify an enforcement mechanism.
Cathy Young
The Bulwark
Excerpt: Last month's annual conference of the Heterodox Academy, a group founded ten years ago by psychologist and author Jonathan Haidt to support intellectual diversity in academia, had to confront a cultural and political landscape drastically changed from previous years. “HxA,” as the group styles itself, is known for taking on threats to academic freedom and intellectual openness from the progressive (or, if you will, “woke”) left. But this is 2025, not 2015. Not only is Donald Trump in the White House again, but his second administration is waging an aggressive attack on the universities in a crusade against academic “wokeness.”
Samuel A. Church and Cam N. Srivastava
Harvard Crimson
Excerpt: At an information session with more than 500 attendees, Harvard staff told international students to expect tight screening at Boston Logan International Airport and keep a careful handle on their internet presence, which could be vetted for pro-Palestine posts.
Grace Little
Cavalier Daily
Excerpt: The Board of Visitors will soon begin the process of selecting an interim president and conducting a national search for a new president in the wake of former University President Jim Ryan’s resignation which came under pressure from the Department of Justice. As the Board searches for a new president, viewpoint diversity is likely to be a topic on their mind.
Kirby Urner '80
March 07, 2025
Are protests illegal by definition? I’d think no, no?
Scenario: a hypothetical dean of student affairs of college X with federal funding sets aside two days a week for campus rallies. A space is set aside, campus groups book reservations, a calendar is published.
Pro Israel rallies are permitted. Pro Palestine rallies are permitted. The college reserves to revoke permits depending on crowd unruliness.
Say this arrangement goes on for several weeks with no rallies turning violent. A permanent soundstage is installed for both music and oratory. Journalists are invited. Counter-demonstrations are not allowed, but the same people may attend any or all of the rallies.
Protest events outside these scheduled places and times are deemed unauthorized by said college, but off-campus events may nevertheless be legal by county criteria. The college makes sure the permitted rallies are deemed legal by whatever county in question. No federal funding is lost.
Is this scenario unrealistic? It seems to me any college or university would encourage dignified permitted assemblies and free speech exercise, as curriculum-relevant and contributing to the public discourse. I wouldn’t think a college that clamped down on rallies would be very appealing to future applicants.