How to Fight Fascism With Working Groups and Task Forces

Wisdom from your Campus Leadership

This piece is my response to the email above.

To the campus community:

On Saturday, the New York Times editorial board published a powerful defense of American higher education, entitled, “Colleges Are Under Attack. They Can Fight Back.” Such a defense is urgently needed given that students and faculty are being disappeared from campuses while free speech is in jeopardy and democracy is crumbling in real time. But don’t worry: I want to assure you that I have formed a committee.

All cultures engage in teaching, learning, and the transmission of knowledge. Within our particular culture, we’re witnessing the criminalization of certain types of knowledge and the people who transmit them. So I’d like to remind you about how special liberal arts colleges are. We help students with research and data analysis and other skills they can use on their résumés after being questioned by federal agents for attending a Palestine solidarity meeting. In recent decades, we’ve also lowered the barrier of cost and cultivated broadly diverse campuses where students can learn how to build and sustain community, at least until that community is forcibly disbanded by armed guards with tear gas.

Our colleges are just one type within a diverse ecosystem of educational institutions that are all simultaneously under existential threat. That ecosystem depends for its vitality on a three-way partnership among schools, government, and the general public. Even on our campus, where we benefit from the generational wealth of our alumni who park their money in our endowment for tax purposes, we still depend on federal agencies that are actively being dismantled or weaponized against us. Likewise, we depend on the public for their goodwill, which is being systematically poisoned through propaganda calling professors “groomers” and students “enemies of the state.” But I digress. Have you seen our new strategic plan? The binder it comes in is burgundy leatherette with gold embossing.

Right now, the partnership is frayed. Critics have alleged that higher education has failed to translate our work for broad audiences, been intolerant of uncensored debate — like whether all students deserve basic human rights — and outpriced most families. The federal government, for its part, has indeed taken what one might call a “punitive approach” to some of these concerns, although “punitive” feels so belligerent. Perhaps they’ve merely shown a strong “interest” — as in, they are interested in arresting professors for teaching actual history and interested in revoking funding from institutions that don’t let armed militias patrol their campuses. Yes, “interest” feels right. It’s important that we maintain our civility while our colleagues are being handcuffed for assigning bell hooks.

As a liberal arts college president and professor, my first inclination in the face of most challenges is to bring together people of diverse perspectives and try to solve the issues collaboratively over a nice pot of Earl Grey. As we often remind our students, progress requires first getting everyone around the table, even as that table is literally on fire. In ideal circumstances, educators and government officials would work together to strengthen our institutions of learning rather than, say, putting educators on government watchlists. We are far from that ideal, but our task force on task forces is looking into it.

Here, then, is a summary of what we in the college leadership are doing to support higher education, and our people, and how you can help:

In terms of college actions, I have convened working groups to track federal actions. Yes, working groups. I’ll add, proudly, that each one has a Google Doc. These groups will propose mitigation and protective strategies that we could employ if needed. Theoretically. In the way that theoretical knowledge is all that is necessary to pass your Defense Against the Dark Arts exam. Members of these working groups are also working to provide information to community members about the law and available resources, which will be super helpful when the law itself becomes the problem. We’ve also updated our emergency preparedness handbook with a new section on maintaining decorum during raids.

Beyond campus, meanwhile, we are involved in higher education advocacy efforts through various impressive-sounding acronyms. I recently joined a delegation of higher ed presidents on a trip to Washington, where my colleagues and I met with legislators to explain that education is, in fact, good. We had lovely name tags. I plan to attend several more such convenings to drink coffee and nod solemnly while checking my email. Our campus has also joined a group of liberal arts schools partnering to educate political leaders about the value of our educational model, because clearly they just don’t understand what we do here! But we’ve printed brochures with tasteful serif fonts and everything.

We will continue expanding these efforts in order to meet emerging needs and challenges. But college and university leaders are unlikely to have an immediate impact on federal policies by ourselves, especially since we realy don’t like using our substantial institutional power, wealth, or platform in ways that might jeopardize our donor relationships.

There are two important ways in which you can help. First, join campus efforts, when you hear about them, to support people affected by government actions. Don’t worry if you don’t hear about them — that means everything is fine!

Second, please help us build appreciation for higher education. Talk to everyone you know about the benefits of studying here. Perhaps you could mention to your uncle who thinks universities are communist training camps that critical thinking is actually beneficial to society! Student, faculty, and staff views are all important, though obviously not important enough for us to take any meaningful stand to protect you. I often say we have a multivocal community, which is a fancy way of saying no one is allowed to blame me for particular institutional stances.

Some of you may also want to write op-eds, join coalitions, or contact your legislators (we have heard that calling is considerably more effective than email, though neither is as effective as massive organized resistance, which we definitely don’t endorse as it would interfere with reunion weekend). There are many ways to add your voice: what is most important is that each of us speak up for the value of education and research and why these practices matter, while carefully avoiding any mention of the specific threats currently endangering those who teach and learn.

Education is the promise of our future. It is the way we cultivate our humanity and try to solve society’s problems, at least until teaching about humanity becomes illegal. It is also the heart of what unites our college. Let us work together to protect it by writing strongly worded emails and having polite conversations with the very people dismantling it. Because if there’s one thing that will save democracy, it’s etiquette.

— Your President