The Griffin Editorial: The danger of disinterestedness

As a college student, and more specifically a Canisius student, it’s easy to get tunnel vision. Between the various responsibilities we Canisius students take on (leaders don’t make themselves), it might be hard to focus on the bigger picture of what’s going on in the world and the way our campus is reacting to them. The Griffin has as of late been engaged in a fair share of conversations with administrators, faculty and staff which have all confirmed that one thing: the effects of the nation’s administration’s policy towards higher education are impossible to avoid, and for those that care, impossible to ignore. Yet, we are facing an epidemic in America and Canisius is no exception: it is ignored by those it impacts the most – our students. This is at odds with the values we should be underscoring and saving: magis, cura personalis and most importantly, being people for and with others. 

The Trump administration’s clashes with higher education are ongoing and have been since his inauguration. On inauguration day, President Trump signed an executive order to abolish all federal diversity, equity and inclusion programs. Throughout the past 9 months of his term, he has ‘battled’ with schools, including but not limited to UCLA, Columbia and Harvard, making federal funding conditional on the schools accepting the administration’s terms, definitions and authority. Columbia has accepted settlements, while Harvard has filed a lawsuit. The situation is ever-changing, and just Thursday morning on Oct. 2, Trump offered nine top universities to sign the Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education, a deal in which the universities would institute a five-year tuition freeze, reduce enrollment of international students, adjust their definition of gender and prohibit activities, structures or departments that would “punish, belittle and even spark violence against conservative ideas.”

This continued and extended pressure is a blatant invasion of the authority and freedom of universities, both public and private. Universities should be free of political pressure, especially from the president of the United States and his administration, and able to create environments tailored to their individual and unique missions and values. Instead, through coercion and demands, this administration has inserted itself into the matters of higher education. These standoffs between the administration and universities across the country do not exist in a vacuum, and even schools that are not directly involved are feeling the effects. At a time when fewer people are already pursuing education and there are overall fewer students of the typical college age, the restrictions from the administration are making boardrooms and executive meetings across colleges and universities all the more stressful. 

How does this impact us students? Although our valued university administration, faculty and staff try their best to insulate us students from feeling the negative pressure, this standoff affects our lives. It sets a dangerous precedent and creates a rocky political atmosphere to have universities bend to the will of a president. When students fail to even be aware of this issue, let alone speak out against it, it creates a society of complicity. When we fail to exercise our First Amendment right, we fall into a habit best defined by the phrase ‘whatever you’re not changing, you’re choosing’ – by not initiating change, even by just initiating a conversation, we’re choosing to be complicit and be bystanders while the institutions we love and hold dear to our lives – our schools – are under attack. You don’t have to hold one of the identities, such as being an international or minority student, to advocate for them. In fact, one of our core Jesuit values of being a person for and with others encourages us to be advocates and stand with those who are different from us. When we battle disinterestedness and instead initiate conversation and spread awareness about the political environment we live in, it encourages us to think of so many people other than ourselves. Our Jesuit values don’t just urge us to; they necessitate us speaking up, standing up, and at least being educated about what’s going on. 

-MFB