We now have a chance to see which American universities will draw a line in the sand (College Receives Loyalty Pledge”; Oct. 3). The independence of US universities has long been their strength while simultaneously a thorn in the side of federal administrations pushing unpopular policies.
The Trump administration froze billions of dollars owed to Harvard University under grants awarded after rigorous review based on merit. The funds would be released only if Harvard signed on to terms dictated by the Trump administration. Harvard refused, and a federal judge has now ruled that the government exceeded its authority. I’ll call this attempt The Extortion Approach.
Now with Dartmouth and others we see the presentation of Trump’s “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education,” the signing of which would yield control to the federal government in order to gain favor and a flow of federal funds. I’ll call this The Transactional Approach.
Alone in the targeted group, the University of Texas gave a swift positive response. The other eight, Dartmouth included, are mulling over how to respond.
In 1958, I was filling out college applications. The Cold War prevailed at the time, and the Soviet Union’s successful satellite launch prompted Congress to pass the National Defense Education Act (NDEA) providing loans for college students. But to receive the loan, a student had to sign a two-part oath.
Part one was a standard oath of allegiance to the U.S.
Part two was a “disclaimer affidavit” requiring students to swear that they did not believe in or support any organization that advocated the overthrow of the U.S. government.
President A. Whitney Griswold of Yale University had no problem with part one, seeing it as a standard oath of allegiance. However, with his earlier stance during the anti-communist frenzy of the McCarthy era, Griswold saw the “disclaimer affidavit” as a dangerous attack on intellectual freedom that resembled “the oppressive religious and political test oaths of history.”
Yale refused to accept NDEA loans for students, and other universities followed suit. Seeing strong and united university opposition, in 1962 Congress eliminated the “disclaimer affidavit” requirement while retaining the loyalty oath.
At the Yale commencement ceremony in 1962, President John F. Kennedy quipped, after receiving an honorary degree, that he now had the best of worlds — a Harvard education and a Yale degree. I too received a Yale degree on that day, and the diploma bears the signature of A. Whitney Griswold. I was proud to receive the degree and I’m proud to have it now.
But what of today? What of Dartmouth? The actions of bullies with neither shame nor restraint are familiar and enduring. The transactional arrangement proposed by the Trump administration is also familiar and enduring.
Dartmouth’s response to President Trump’s “compact” will play a role in how graduating students view President Beilock’s signature on their diplomas, both when handed to them and decades hence. I fervently hope they will be proud.
Joseph Warner served as Director of Grant and Contract Administration at Yale University from 1970 to 1983, a job which required informing Federal employees periodically that universities pushing the boundaries of knowledge must be recognized as very different from contractors making things or doing assigned tasks. He lives in Unity.