At the Vanderbilt Hustler, Jacob Stoebner reports on the Vanderbilt faculty senate and student government strongly oppossing President Trump’s proposed “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Educaation”
The article highlights two events:
Student Government Statement
The Vanderbilt Student Government released a joint statement, together with the student governments at Brown, Dartmouth, MIT, University of Arizona, University of Pennsylvania, and University of Virginia, opposing the compact.
The statement enumerated many reasons why the proposed compact is antithetical to academic freedom and the values of Vanderbilt University, and concluded:
As student representatives, we stand in united opposition to the outlined conditions. We call on our community of students, faculty, alumni and leadership to reaffirm our commitment to reject political interference and federal overreach. Academic freedom is not negotiable.
In addition to issuing the statement, the student government polled the undergraduate student body. Over 1,200 students responded and 84% opposed the commpact.
Faculty Senate Resolution
The article also reports on a resolution I introduced in the faculty senate, which was overwhelmingly adopted by a vote of 30 for, 11 against, and one abstention.
The full text of the resolution reads:
WHEREAS the United States Secretary of Education has requested that Vanderbilt University enter into a b