Hegseth has degrees from Princeton and Harvard. The Vice President has a degree from Yale. Trump himself graduated from Wharton, one of the Ivy League business schools (although not one directly names in the memo).
Pentagon chief blocks officers from Ivy League schools and top universities
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Re: Pentagon chief blocks officers from Ivy League schools and top universities
#12Too much willingness to disobey unlawful orders from the "woke left" I assume
The list of replacements institutions from the memo states at the bottom: > These institutions meet the following criteria: intellectual freedom, minimal relationships with adversaries, minimal public expressions in opposition of the Department, and Graduate-level National Security, International Affairs, and/or Public Policy Programs. So it is definitely political and not based on merit.
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Re: Pentagon chief blocks officers from Ivy League schools and top universities
#13Earlier quoted context omitted.
The list of replacements institutions from the memo states at the bottom: > These institutions meet the following criteria: intellectual freedom, minimal relationships with adversaries, minimal public expressions in opposition of the Department, and Graduate-level National Security, International Affairs, and/or Public Policy Programs. So it is definitely political and not based on merit.
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This is just made up bullshit. Pete could list this info with examples but instead just hand-waved excuses.
Re: Pentagon chief blocks officers from Ivy League schools and top universities
#14The actual announcement - https://media.defense.gov/2026/Feb/27/2003881802/-1/-1/1/ALI... I've TFed and CAed for SSC fellows eons ago and the fact is UMich (especially the International Institute [0]), VT (CETS [1] and CGIT [2]), ASU (GSI [3] and CAPS [4]), and UNC (ASC [5], ISA [6], CES [7], and TISS [8]) remain great programs and tend to be fairly liberal. Surprised TAMU wasn't included. Edit: can't reply > and lo…
My first reaction was, "watch, they're going to replace actual rigorous educational institutions with religious colleges" and lo and behold, "Liberty University" is at the top of the list for replacement civilian institutions.
Religious schools have long had the strongest cancel culture out there.
Re: Pentagon chief blocks officers from Ivy League schools and top universities
#15Re: Pentagon chief blocks officers from Ivy League schools and top universities
#16Re: Pentagon chief blocks officers from Ivy League schools and top universities
#17Hegseth has degrees from Princeton and Harvard. The Vice President has a degree from Yale. Trump himself graduated from Wharton, one of the Ivy League business schools (although not one directly names in the memo).
Maybe they are right to block these institutions then?
If this is the quality of product produced what’s the point?
Our Harvard/Stanford etc management seemed less capable than products of state schools. It kind of shocked me as I thought once I got into startups and scaleups with Ivy League talent I’d be way over my head. Very much a let down.
Re: Pentagon chief blocks officers from Ivy League schools and top universities
#18Half of the best engineers I know come from a random state school, from a random country, and we should work way harder than we do on finding those people.
But also… the other half come from prestigious colleges, and the way you solve the first half is not by not hiring the second half.
Re: Pentagon chief blocks officers from Ivy League schools and top universities
#19Interestingly, Dartmouth, UPenn, and Cornell aren't on the Cancelled Senior Service College (SSC) Fellowships list. So this is some select Ivy Leagues only.
Re: Pentagon chief blocks officers from Ivy League schools and top universities
#20Hegseth went to Princeton and Harvard, FYI
https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2026/2/26/langer-harvard-...
> Harvard itself is an incredibly inequitable place. Student organizations — and undergraduate social life more broadly — have been criticized for being stacked heavily against those without connections. And perhaps most insidious is Harvard’s unwavering preference for so-called ALDCs – athletes, legacies, dean’s interest list, and children of faculty and staff. Without dismantling our own elitism, how can Harvard begin to fight the product of it?
Yep. I was never more proud of my alma mater than when they announced they would no longer give preferential treatment to legacy students (students of alumni). Legacy students alone make up 1/3 of Harvard’s accepted students. (I’d say that’s an embarrassment, but for Harvard that’s a feature not a bug.)
The same way people in power will always cling to the advantages power gives them, afraid of starting from the same place as everyone else for fear they won’t make it on their merits alone.