Trump is attempting to take over American Universities

#1

Post by arunbahl » Fri, Apr 11, 2025, 6:55 PM UTC

Trump is attempting to take over American Universities
garymarcus.substack.com

Re: Trump is attempting to take over American Universities

#2

Post by JumpCrisscross » Fri, Apr 11, 2025, 7:31 PM UTC

There is an argument for ending federal support of private universities. States are better set up to resist the federal government.

Re: Trump is attempting to take over American Universities

#3

Post by hayst4ck » Fri, Apr 11, 2025, 7:36 PM UTC

The opposite of authority is reason.

Authoritarian regimes hate disobedience. Coming up with your own ideas or rejecting what your priest, parent, or politician says is very disobedient.

Reasoning about the world is a threat to authority. Studying the history of something and keeping records about what is happening in order to attribute disastrous policy accurately is equally threatening. That de-legitimizes authority and justifies disobedience. This administration has worked to delete graphs that would require action or that show bad policy decisions rather than to take action or change policy.

Authoritarians need to subordinate institutions that ground themselves in reality and devote themselves to reason. Universities are the natural enemies of authoritarians.

Re: Trump is attempting to take over American Universities

#4

Post by goatlover » Fri, Apr 11, 2025, 7:49 PM UTC

JumpCrisscross wrote: post #2

There is an argument for ending federal support of private universities. States are better set up to resist the federal government.

What happened to states rights? Do Republicans no longer believe in that?

Re: Trump is attempting to take over American Universities

#5

Post by JumpCrisscross » Fri, Apr 11, 2025, 7:50 PM UTC

goatlover wrote: post #4

JumpCrisscross wrote: post #2

There is an argument for ending federal support of private universities. States are better set up to resist the federal government.

What happened to states rights? Do Republicans no longer believe in that?

How is this relevant?

Re: Trump is attempting to take over American Universities

#6

Post by cs702 » Fri, Apr 11, 2025, 7:50 PM UTC

As much as I disagree with Marcus whenever he opens his mouth on AI, I wholeheartedly agree with him on this:

A functioning democracy requires that academics, journalists, and law firms remain independent of the state.

Re: Trump is attempting to take over American Universities

#7

Post by goatlover » Fri, Apr 11, 2025, 7:51 PM UTC

JumpCrisscross wrote: post #5

goatlover wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What happened to states rights? Do Republicans no longer believe in that?

How is this relevant?

It's relevant to the current administration going after universities.

Re: Trump is attempting to take over American Universities

#8

Post by krapp » Fri, Apr 11, 2025, 7:53 PM UTC

goatlover wrote: post #4

JumpCrisscross wrote: post #2

There is an argument for ending federal support of private universities. States are better set up to resist the federal government.

What happened to states rights? Do Republicans no longer believe in that?

Republicans have always believed in the right of states to support and enforce Republican ideology.

Re: Trump is attempting to take over American Universities

#9

Post by JumpCrisscross » Fri, Apr 11, 2025, 8:11 PM UTC

goatlover wrote: post #7

JumpCrisscross wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How is this relevant?

It's relevant to the current administration going after universities.

Columbia is a private entity directly contracting with the federal government. This isn’t a states’ rights issue.

Re: Trump is attempting to take over American Universities

#10

Post by quantified » Fri, Apr 11, 2025, 8:30 PM UTC

goatlover wrote: post #7

JumpCrisscross wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How is this relevant?

It's relevant to the current administration going after universities.

It's not about rights, it's about funding. If the universities don't take federal $$, they can't get told what to do by the federal government.

Taking the aid $$ is accepting soft power. Same as with foreign aid.