Trump offers universities a choice: Comply for preferential funding

CrimsonEldritch

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69
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Holy snap, if this effort sticks, the blowback when the pendulum swings is gonna be epic.

eg, I can imagine a progressive administration dictating "if you want federal funds, a minimum of XX% of your faculty and students MUST BE minority status", etc etc ...

I can't imagine it because SCOTUS would stop the progressive version from being implemented.
 
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whp

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The way I interpreted this is that it's written in a way that suggests the people doing the writing cannot conceive of a different party ever gaining control of the government again.

Depending on your perspective, that's either laughably lacking in foresight or . . . very, very scary.
 
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quamquam quid loquor

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The micromanaging of admissions extends to foreign students, as the document warns that admitting them risks "saturating the campus with noxious values such as anti-Semitism and other anti-American values, creating serious national security risks." So every campus will have to cap foreign admissions at 15 percent of the student population. Those who are accepted will need to sit through instruction on American civics.
Financially, this is being discussed as a significant credit event because many colleges essentially used foreign students paying full tuition to offset lower revenue from domestic students. We are going to see a massive wave of M&A consolidation with the big winner being huge state schools and losses accruing downstream from smaller institutions. This can be a good thing, but will reduce diversity of thought and increase economies of scale.

The big get bigger, just like the banks.
 
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jlredford

Ars Scholae Palatinae
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I heard the president of MIT, Sally Kornbluth, talk about this last May. She thought that a third (!) of MIT's funding could be cut. They have already increased the tax on their endowment income by 5X, from about 1.5% to 8%. They are also cutting the "indirect cost", the margin paid for indirect research expenses, from a median of 56% to 15%. And they're cutting international students and faculty. So no, this is not a deal - it's an attempt to destroy US academia. They know the only way they can rule is through ruin.

This was part a session talking about the research that was happening at MIT w.r.t. health. Professors presented their work on finding a new TB vaccine, on prosthetics, on health care funding, and on the detection of ovarian cancer. At the very end the moderator asked “What’s the one missing piece that would aid your research?” One said flexible funding to pursue strategy changes and another thought there should be more focus on therapeutics across a diverse community instead of research. Yet the last to speak, Prof Bryan Bryson, said:


What we need is you. We need you to go out and talk to everyone about the wonderful things you’ve heard here. Academia is not some ivory tower – it’s attacking problems that affect everyone. Someone in your life has had TB or cancer or a terrible accident. When people ask ‘What do they do over there?’, say ‘They help you.’ Go out and tell twenty people about the amazing things you see here.
That's what Trump is destroying.
 
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138 (139 / -1)
UT System Board of Regents Chairman Kevin Eltife said in a statement shared first with the American-Statesman on Thursday that the system is "honored" to be selected and is "enthusiastically" working with UT to review the demands.
Could have told you UT would bend the knee before they even said anything. Terrible administration.
 
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31 (32 / -1)

Super King

Ars Praetorian
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The fact that the people preparing this document don't seem aware of this provides an indication that these demands were not carefully thought through.
Par for the course, it would be shocking otherwise.

So conservatives want more conservative diversity, more conservative inclusion, and more equitable treatment of conservatives... Hey two people that down vote everything that isn't pro-trump, explain why this dei is ok please 🥺
 
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DJ Farkus

Ars Scholae Palatinae
864
Conservatives are not scared of the blowback from a pendulum swing as many states and institutions already have diversity goals and minority requirements for grants and awards.
I think your statement needs a lot more "past tense" as many of these conservative institutions have dropped all DEI policies in hiring and admissions to comply more closely with the emperor.

Like in TX, as a result of state law
https://gov.texas.gov/news/post/governor-abbott-directs-state-agencies-to-ban-dei-policies
 
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30 (31 / -1)

stk5

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Other specific proposals echo those that were present in a set of demands made to Harvard: assess viewpoint diversity on campus and take steps to ensure it is present "not just in the university as a whole, but within every field, department, school, and teaching unit." Universities must also prevent anyone protesting on campus, including non-students, from disrupting classes or study, or heckling other students.

One area where viewpoint diversity isn't welcome, however, is sex and gender. "Institutions commit to defining and otherwise interpreting 'male,' 'female,' 'woman,' and 'man' according to reproductive function and biological processes." First Amendment rights are also targeted, as anyone representing the university "will abstain from actions or speech relating to societal and political events except in cases in which external events have a direct impact upon the university."
This administration is full of college-educated losers like Vance and Miller who experienced actual "viewpoint diversity" for the first time as students and couldn't handle it.
 
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83 (85 / -2)

ricerocket

Wise, Aged Ars Veteran
141
Watching Trump destroy all that's great and noble in the USA.

He's either stupid or treasonous, probably a lot of both. Next US President will have their hands full rebuilding from the Trump disaster.

Its not just Trump. Its his whole administration and then some. Dont forget Miller, Vought, Noem, Bondi, McMahon, Patel, Barrett, Kavanaugh, all the other cronies that are or have been or will be installed. The list goes on.

As for the damage, this is generational damage. Assuming we can get past all the red state gerrymandering, every presidency after needs to have similar visions that are NOT Trump and Christian nationalism visions. And this is also assuming Trump isnt in office in 2028. And also assuming that if there is a normal president in 2028, the Supreme Court wont over rule their current rulings that give the president so much power to fire all the rats currently installed. And the final biggest assumption is if we even will have anything left cause we're not even one year into this administration.
 
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Tea_and_Coffee

Smack-Fu Master, in training
89
Too late for me. My daughter was a Division 1 swimmer, at a large public university. She was good academically, and also the 2 or 3rd highest point scorer on the team. Despite that, she was never given a full scholarship. Meanwhile there were numerous foreign students on the swim team, all of them lower point scorers, with full-ride. It seemed strange that a state university would favor foreign over local students when it came to scholarships. Cost me a ton of money, and was very aggravating.
Sports scholarships, or expecting scholarships because of sporting ability, has been one of the very many problems with the American academic system that has led (in its own small way) to the current situation you are all facing over there.
 
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71 (71 / 0)
Too late for me. My daughter was a Division 1 swimmer, at a large public university. She was good academically, and also the 2 or 3rd highest point scorer on the team. Despite that, she was never given a full scholarship. Meanwhile there were numerous foreign students on the swim team, all of them lower point scorers, with full-ride. It seemed strange that a state university would favor foreign over local students when it came to scholarships. Cost me a ton of money, and was very aggravating.
Your daughter was second or third highest scorer, but received nothing over four years, while all them furriners got full rides. No Colorado women's swimming has made TOP-50 in the last decade, nor any of their individuals. They're not scouting worldwide. They're not giving swimmers full rides. Those furriners paid full international tuition, or were funded for other reasons.
I get that putting kids through college stings, but why the implausible aggrievement? You have five cars. Three Tesla Model Ys (one recently purchased). University of Colorado and Colorado State in-state tuition are still only $14K/year.
 
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128 (132 / -4)
""Institutions of higher education are free to develop models and values other than those below, if the institution elects to forego federal benefits...."

Speaking of academic excellence, perhaps the writer(s) of the document might learn the difference between "forego" and "forgo."

And here's a link to the document coercion if anyone wants to read it.
 
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D

Deleted member 543677

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At this point, American students would be better off going abroad or not at all.
As I've said on an informal discord with Ars Veterans, education abroad can be shockingly cheaper too. (In state + financial aid = 15k/year tuition is more expensive than good European universities price tag for non-EU students. And don't look up French public university prices, you'll think it's a scam)
 
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jezra

Ars Tribunus Militum
2,130
Holy snap, if this effort sticks, the blowback when the pendulum swings is gonna be epic.

eg, I can imagine a progressive administration dictating "if you want federal funds, a minimum of XX% of your faculty and students MUST BE minority status", etc etc ...
while the pendulum does swing left from the far-right, it doesn't swing to "the left", and it stops somewhere around center/center-right. The democrats may have some progressive social policies, but their leadership is still die-hard capitalists looking to enrich their corporate sponsors.
 
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It has to be embarassing to be a faculty member at one of these schools, given that the admin seems to think you're an ally.
There are LOTS of meetings going on. Some closed door, devices off. Already heard whispers of cuts, layoffs, no raises, no new hires. Post-docs that can't go home (Russia or there about) or how draconian VISA forms are (turn off face time, give passcode to agent at airports). Faculty that would normally give a lecture, are now option to over-zoom (but denied stipend for costs).
While I'm not too worried of my career being in jeopardy, I am concerned for new hires, new PhDs, incoming foreign students (if at all) and the domino effect of it all. Y'all see that video of the Nazi harassing a psych class on a campus? Are there going to be no more open campuses? Will all have to show ID and proxx in to every building? Walls going up to protect the students INSIDE?

Fire this guy now. Fire his adminstration and then hold them to rule of law. Put them in prison. Remove all benefits. Strip the internet of their names. Sell off the golf courses as lots for homeless homes. If you don't fire trump and the 2025 criminals, it will be Nazi Germany all over again. This is how they work. Fear. Intimidation. Greed. Think about your daughters! Think about your grand daughters! These GOPedos will rape them for "The Future!".
 
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Fred Duck

Ars Tribunus Angusticlavius
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John Timmer said:
"Institutions of higher education are free to develop models and values other than those below, if the institution elects to forego federal benefits," it suggests, while mentioning that those benefits include access to fundamental needs, like student loans, federal contracts, research funding, tax benefits, and immigration visas for students and faculty.
So now what was normal for ages is called a "benefit."

Quite the spin.

shakes head

It also brings to mind the culture war in Japan at the moment, where some restaurants now have tip jars.
Oona McGee said:
The presence of tip jars threatens to undermine Japan’s cultural approach to service, replacing intrinsic pride in hospitality with a transactional mindset that incentivises customer service, resulting in varying levels of hospitality that erodes the high standard that currently exists.
 
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MilanKraft

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Watching Trump destroy all that's great and noble in the USA.

He's either stupid or treasonous, probably a lot of both. Next US President will have their hands full rebuilding from the Trump disaster.
Except that in all probability, given the rapid dismantling of everything that road-blocks these assholes from turning govt into their own personal playground, most likely, due to pending voter mechanism fuckery, your next president will be:

Donald Trump (he remained in relatively good health)
JD Vance (Trump did not remain in relatively good health)
 
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HiroTheProtagonist

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As I've said on an informal discord with Ars Veterans, education abroad can be shockingly cheaper too. (In state + financial aid = 15k/year tuition is more expensive than good European universities price tag for non-EU students. And don't look up French public university prices, you'll think it's a scam)
My sister went to McGill University back in the day, I don't remember exactly what the cost was, but apparently it was a fraction of what most US schools were charging, especially given McGill's reputation at the time (IIRC they were "the Harvard of Canada" at the time, not sure if they're still as prestigious nowadays).
 
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Joe the Spartan

Smack-Fu Master, in training
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I honestly don't understand how they can even legally make these demands. Setting aside the whole "we're doing fascism so you must do what we say" rationale, on what legal basis can the Gov't make these demands? Is this all being done through changes to the grant award process? Can Universities sue for funding, saying these demands are not legally requirable through the current process? Is this just an executive order?

Again please don't respond to my post with "there doing fascism so they're gonna do whatever they want." Yes, I know this, what I am curious about is what legal/bureaucratic framework they are attempting to enforce this through.
 
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cbreak

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Not consider gender in admissions?
How soon before some large university has an all female freshman class?

Any mention of preferences for athletes? No male students means no football team.
We have female football teams here in Europe. But that has nothing to do with universities, it's sports clubs.
 
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Granadico

Ars Scholae Palatinae
1,182
Equality is oppression to these people. They can't conceive of being in the minority on anything, and any attempts to level the playing field a bit (DEI, etc.) is seen as oppression and unfair, but doing things to make sure they maintain their status quo on top isn't seen the same way.

There's plenty of conservative viewpoints at universities because universities are filled with people with a ton of money (well their families have a ton of money) and, being as generous as possible to their morality, the "lower taxes" party can be appealing to generational wealth.
 
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