How do you fight a bully? First, you stand up to him, and that is exactly what the leaders of 7 universities did recently when they said no to Donald Trump's ultimatum to go conservative or else! Check out the demands made by the Trump Administration in their Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education in the article below. Clearly, it is an assault on academic freedom. The compact was authored by right-wing, billionaire financier Mark Rowan.
I've been following this very closely since the debacle at Columbia University over the pro-Palestine protests, and the university's response to Trump's bullying has been a complete disgrace!
I am proud of these universities but be assured that Trump and his team of bullies are gonna push back hard with threats to their funding etc etc.
I don't know if Les realizes this, but part of the agreement Trump & Columbia University signed mandates that Columbia appoint a monitor to check on both the Middle East & African studies syllabus and how they are taught in classrooms. For example, how colonialism, imperialism, etc., are taught will be reviewed. How Afrocentrism & Black studies is currently being taught will also be reviewed: for example, the Black presence in the building of ancient Egypt's civilization will also face review.
Sometimes we fail to connect the dots at our own peril. That's why I insisted & warned that the politics around the Israel/Gaza madness is deeply related to American politics. Trump's bullying of the universities is one aspect of the fallout. Just my opinion.
Props to the federal judge, Cameron Currie, who just threw out the cases against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James.. The judge also pointed out that the prosecutor who brought the cases, Lindsey Halligan, was not even lawfully appointed.. What a mess and such a disgrace..
.. it's worth pointing out that most of Trump's cabinet are underqualified or not qualified at all for the positions they hold, yet these are the same folks criticizing DEI. Hypocrites!!
