New Jersey universities joined colleges from all over the country in signing a public statement condemning the Trump administration’s political interference with higher education.
The American Association of Colleges and Universities wrote the public statement titled: “A call for constructive engagement.” The letters speaks out against “unprecedented government overreach and political interference now endangering American higher education.”
The letter does not call out President Donald Trump by name, but drives home the importance of the freedom of dialogue “without fear of retribution, censorship, or deportation.”
The part of the letter regarding censorship and deportation may allude to the case of Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia University graduate and activist who was detained and faces deportation as the Trump administration argued his Pro-Palestinian stances have “adverse foreign policy consequences” for the United States. Khalil, who is a legal U.S. resident and has not been accused of any crime, has an unknown fate as a lawsuit filed in New Jersey, where Khalil was temporarily detained, is still pending.
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The AAC&U also stresses the important of higher education in their letter. The Trump administration plans to slash the Department of Education, with the New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin announcing weeks ago that he filed a lawsuit with other states’ attorneys general to block the layoffs from that agency.
Many New Jersey colleges and their presidents signed off on the letter from the AAC&U. The organization stated they are still collecting signatures as of Tuesday afternoon. These are the universities from the Garden State that participated.
Hubert Benitez, President, Saint Peter’s University
Michael A. Bernstein, President, The College of New Jersey
Joe Bertolino, President, Stockton University
Gregory G. Dell’Omo, President, Rider University
Christopher L. Eisgruber, President, Princeton University
Richard J. Helldobler, President, William Paterson University
Jonathan Holloway, President, Rutgers University
Jonathan Koppell, President, Montclair State University
Hilary L. Link, President, Drew University
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: NJ college presidents join letter condeming ‘government overreach’