College Crackdown

Authored by Larry Sand via American Greatness,

Diversity, equity, and inclusion mandates, race-based hiring, and safe spaces are just a few of the noxious turns that have become the standard in American colleges and universities in recent times.

Examples of universities practicing preferential treatment are countless. John Sailer, director of higher education policy at the Manhattan Institute, reports on a faculty job rubric he obtained from the University of Texas at San Antonio, which listed “female/URM” (underrepresented minority) as a scoring category.

Similarly, in an email he received from Northern Illinois University, a computer science professor shared the department’s search committee evaluation rubric, which scored applicants on their “diversity” and awarded points for those who were “non-male or non-Caucasian.”

But change is afoot.

On July 29, the Department of Justice sent a letter to all federal grant recipients reaffirming a core principle of American civil rights law: discrimination is illegal. The nine-page missive, signed by U.S. Attorney General Pamela Bondi, lists several practices that constitute unlawful discrimination—many of which are common in higher education.

Shortly thereafter, a memo signed by President Trump instructed colleges receiving federal funding to submit admissions data to the Education Department to ensure they comply with the 2023 Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard Supreme Court decision. Colleges are already required to provide specific data about the students they enroll. Now, they must also submit detailed information about those who apply.

The memo declares that “the lack of available admissions data from universities—paired with the rampant use of ‘diversity statements’ and other overt and hidden racial proxies—continues to raise concerns about whether race is actually used in admissions decisions in practice.”

The memo also states, “American students, parents, and taxpayers should have confidence that our nation’s higher education institutions are recruiting and training our next generations with fairness and integrity.”

While universities have succeeded in social engineering and indoctrination, they have fallen short academically. California State University, Northridge (CSUN), a campus in the extensive CSU system, is a prime example.

While CSUN ranks number one in the western U.S. for diversity, it has a meager six-year graduation rate of 54% and an even more pathetic four-year graduation rate of 17%.

But the school does offer “healing spaces” for students to engage in “conversations regarding race, anti-racism, diversity, equity, and inclusivity.” It is also equipped with a resource center targeting “lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, intersex, and asexual (LGBTQIA+) students.”

To expand students’ understanding of diversity, CSUN maintains an “anti-racism resource list,” which includes “allyship articles,” training on unconscious bias, and law enforcement alternatives to encourage students to challenge authority in the name of revolution and justice.

It’s important to understand that being indoctrinated can be quite costly. After adjusting for inflation, tuition at a four-year public college has risen by 197.4% since 1963, and it’s difficult to argue that students are receiving more value for their money.

Many anti-Trumpers say that the president is trying to take over American colleges. This group treats colleges as independent entities, beholden to no one.

However, America’s colleges greatly benefit from taxpayer support. Federal, state, and local governments collectively spent $237 billion on higher education in 2022, according to Just Facts. This amount translates to $1,807 for every household in the U.S., excluding additional government funding for university research, hospitals, and student loans. Only 22 colleges in the country refuse any public funds.

Additionally, capital gains for major university endowments are taxed at a very low rate of 1.4%, a tiny fraction of what they would pay if they operated like other businesses or investment funds.

Even with taxpayer largesse, high tuition rates have saddled students with a collective $1.8 trillion in debt.

At the same time, many graduates lack the basic skills needed for success in the workforce, and a recent study shows that high school students and young adults are losing faith in the benefits of a college education.

“Continuing to Explore the Exodus from Higher Education” compares the results of focus groups and a national survey conducted in 2023 to findings from a 2022 Gates Foundation report titled “Where are the students?” Researchers found that high schoolers and non-enrolled adults ages 18-30 still associate some benefits with attending college, but those perceived benefits were in decline compared to findings from 2022.

In conclusion, the study’s researchers state, “Despite our understanding of the value of higher education, perceptions among these high school students and non-enrolled audiences make it clear that institutions need to prove their value to them.”

Unless a student needs a college degree for a specific career, they can skip indoctrination-focused universities and join an apprenticeship program, which offers options to get paid while learning a trade—such as carpentry or plumbing—from experienced industry professionals, and typically leads to a job afterward. The trades pay well. In California, carpenters and plumbers can earn over $90,000 a year.

For those who choose college, we must return to a traditional college experience, starting with an all-out movement for civic education. The Annenberg Constitution Day Civics Survey, released in late 2023, found that 34% of Americans could not name all three branches of government, 10% could name just two, 7% knew only one, and 17% didn’t know any. Additionally, when respondents were asked to name the rights guaranteed by the First Amendment, 77% named freedom of speech, but just 40% knew that freedom of religion is included, 33% named the right to assembly, 28% knew freedom of the press, and a mere 9% mentioned the right to petition the government.

As we approach the 250th anniversary of America, it should be a time for school leaders to come together across ideological divides and focus on teaching our common political heritage.

We must return to a time when students attended school to earn a BS after finishing their college courses. As it stands now, students often end up with a load of BS before they graduate.