Higher education teaches critical thinking, encourages curiosity, and pushes students to expand and develop their skills and opinions. So, naturally, Donald Trump is determined to crush them, as the more educated and intelligent a person is, the less likely they’ll swallow his MAGA nonsense.
And so, on Oct. 1, administrators at nine prominent U.S. universities received letters from the White House thought police ordering them to fully adopt and agree with Trump’s policy agenda to get preferential access to federal funds.
This “compact for excellence in higher education” tightly restricts which opinions are allowed to be expressed by staff and students, attempting to erase anything that could “purposefully punish, belittle, and even spark violence against conservative ideas”.
Beyond that, the compact gags professors and other employees from expressing political views; enforces transphobic views, and mandates “conditions of civility” which effectively ban any kind of campus student demonstrations.
Newsom strikes back
California governor Gavin Newsom isn’t taking this lying down, hitting back with a threat to any California university that dares bend the knee to Trump:
California universities that bend to the will of Donald Trump and sign this insane “compact” will lose billions in state funding — IMMEDIATELY.
— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) October 2, 2025
California will not bankroll schools that sign away academic freedom. pic.twitter.com/UiRAJiRNeY
“California universities that bend to the will of Donald Trump and sign this insane “compact” will lose billions in state funding — IMMEDIATELY. California will not bankroll schools that sign away academic freedom.”
There’s a lot of stuff I vehemently disagree with Gavin Newsom about, but compared with the rest of the spineless and ineffective Democratic Party it’s refreshing to see someone not afraid to actually fight back against one of Trump’s more insidious ideological policies.
That said, the universities targeted by Trump are now caught between a rock and a hard place. If they bow to Trump, they can expect federal support, though at the cost of the trust of their staff, the student body and, frankly their dignity. Any reputation they have as a place for ideas to be freely discussed will be over, replaced by orders to pump out good little MAGA drones.
If they follow Newsom’s lead, they can keep their critical state funding and maintain the academic freedom they crave, but at the risk of facing intense anger from Washington. As has been proven many times over, the president and his staff are bitter, vindictive, and ready to use overwhelming violence to get their way.
Some difficult calculations will have to be made, but it may boil down to one question. Is it better to sacrifice your dignity, ideals, and freedom, or stand up and fight for your principles, even if the battle will be fierce, dangerous, and with zero guarantee of victory? I know what I’d pick.
