Scholars Platform
Andrew Gillen, a research fellow at the conservative Cato Institute’s Center for Educational Freedom, wrote in a recent paper that “accreditors too often abuse their power as gatekeepers” to federal financial aid, including in areas such as pushing DEI standards.
As President Donald Trump churned out more than 80 executive orders over the past three weeks, sending the higher education community into a panic, some students were surprised to see a lack of campus protests—even at institutions traditionally rife with activism.
“Overzealous enforcement could threaten free speech by, for example, indirectly chilling a professor from sharing their positive views of affirmative action policies or leading to investigation of a government grantee for a social media post expressing personal support for DEI initiatives,” the foundation wrote.
Or Hen, a physics professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and co-founder of Kalaniyot, a faculty-led initiative focused on deepening ties between MIT and Israeli researchers, said that he has witnessed systemic failures in discipline for protesters and protection for Jewish students.
The White House's budget director recently told agencies to pause federal grants, loans and other aid so they can review their adherence to Trump's slew of orders since coming to office.