The Trump administration has sent letters to nine universities demanding that the schools pledge their support for President Donald Trump’s political agenda if they want to keep their federal funding.
The demands came in the form of a 10-page “compact” that The New York Times reports “serves as a sort of priority statement for the administration’s educational goals.”
The compact requires the schools to freeze tuition for five years, restrict enrollment for international students, and adhere to definitions of gender approved by the administration.
Schools would also be required to prohibit the implementation of any policies that would “punish, belittle and even spark violence against conservative ideas.”
According to a letter signed by senior administration officials including Education Secretary Linda McMahon, colleges that sign the compact will receive “multiple positive benefits.”
The letters were sent on Wednesday to Dartmouth College, Brown University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of Southern California, the University of Arizona, the University of Virginia, the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Texas, and Vanderbilt University.
May Mailman, the White House’s senior adviser for special projects and one of the signatories of the letter sent to the nine colleges, told The New York Times that the administration was open to feedback from the universities contacted.
“We hope all universities ultimately are able to have a conversation with us,” she said.
White House officials spoke to The Washington Post about the administration’s plan late last month, with one senior official telling the paper, “Now it’s time to effect change nationwide, not on a one-off basis.”
According to the Post report, universities would continue to be eligible for grants “in theory,” but those willing to comply with the administration’s demands would secure a “competitive advantage.”
The administration’s demands are the latest in a series of moves targeting the higher education sector. Others include implementing funding freezes, threatening schools’ tax-exempt status, and attempting to revoke universities’ ability to host international students if the schools did not adjust their policies to align with the administration’s agenda, particularly as it relates to international students, pro-Palestinian activism, transgender athletes, and diversity, equity and inclusion.
Several schools have found themselves in the president’s crosshairs, with Harvard University the only one standing up to the administration and opting to fight Trump in court.
“No government—regardless of which party is in power—should dictate what private universities can teach, whom they can admit and hire, and which areas of study and inquiry they can pursue,” Harvard President Alan Garber wrote in an open letter to the Harvard community in April.
Trump said on Tuesday that a deal with Harvard was close to being finalized, while others with the University of Pennsylvania, Columbia University, and Brown University were already reached earlier this year.
