After two weeks of community input, faculty meetings and deliberation, President Christina Paxson P’19 P’MD’20 has rejected an invitation to join the federal government’s “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education.” The decision avoids dire consequences for the future of the University and the United States as a whole. By choosing to uphold Brown’s institutional values of free speech and a commitment to unfettered academic inquiry, Paxson has taken steps to defend higher education and American democracy — for now.
Last week, the editorial page board argued that the compact unconstitutionally infringes upon Brown’s rights as an institution and provides little in exchange. Signing on to the compact, we believed, would disregard the merits of academic research and silence students and professors alike. Paxson, as she explained in her response to the federal government, agrees, stating that such a pact “would restrict academic freedom and undermine the autonomy of Brown’s governance, critically compromising our ability to fulfill our mission.”
The Brown community knew this. Our faculty wrote a letter to Paxson, urging her to turn down the White House’s proposal. Our alums organized a campaign to press Brown’s leaders to reject the compact. Our students and professors took to the streets and protested against the invasion of authoritarianism into our school. We are not surprised that the University has declined to join the compact — the decision represents the will of the Brown community. But Paxson’s decision, whether intentional or not, will have an impact that reverberates beyond College Hill.
As Brown takes this critical step forward, other universities receiving the news will likely feel less isolated and can respond without fear of being put at a disadvantage when competing for funds. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s recent rejection of the proposal, along with the University’s matching decision, will make it easier for other universities to follow suit. Trump cannot deny equal treatment of universities if they all decide to follow MIT’s, and now Brown’s, path.
Still, the University must remain cautious. While Brown has turned down the compact, the Trump administration has made it clear that it is committed to expanding its hold on American higher education. Recently, the compact was unofficially extended to all U.S. universities, making it more likely that Trump will set his sights on the University again in the future.
While the compact specifically targets universities, it is far from the government’s only attack on American institutions. In March, President Trump retaliated against America’s law firms, forcing them to shell out millions. In September, his influence hit our talk shows — “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” was temporarily taken off the air. This month, his campaign of retribution extended to major news outlets, resulting in severe restrictions on covering the Pentagon. Each individual, business or university that sheds its values by appeasing the administration feeds Trump’s ambition, further placing American democracy in danger. Yet, when institutions like Brown reject the president’s unprecedented demands, they protect not only their own individual interests, but also the very ideals that our nation was founded on. Today, we celebrate the courage that the University has shown in response to these attacks. Tomorrow, we must remain skeptical that they are far from over.
Editorials are written by The Herald’s editorial page board, and its views are separate from those of The Herald’s newsroom and the 135th Editorial Board, which leads the paper. A majority of the editorial page board voted in favor of this piece. Please send responses to this column to letters@browndailyherald.com and other opinions to opinions@browndailyherald.com.
