The Daily Signal - My Advice for Ivy League Universities: Take the Trump Deal Before It’s Too Late | Victor Davis Hanson

Starting point is 00:00:00 We've talked about higher education before, but now it's come into sharper focus with the Trump administration's deadlock with Harvard University. If they are dependent on federal funding, these big private marquee universities, Columbia, Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Stanford, Duke, and they want federal money. I don't think it's a wise thing for them to get into a fight with the federal government. The federal government is going to ask for some transparency, and we the public really don't know much about it. It's like a rock on a moist ground. You don't want to turn it over because there's going to be things underneath there that would be better not to be seen. And that's what the public is going to learn about higher education. Hello, this is Victor Davis Hanson for the Daily Signal.

Starting point is 00:00:53 We've talked about higher education before, but now it's come into sharper focus with the Trump administration's deadlock with Harvard University over its, unwillingness or inability, whatever term we'd like to use, to meet the administration's demands that ensure an anti-Semitic free campus that does not allow people to disrupt classes. It doesn't use race after the Supreme Court decision that went against Harvard and said that affirmative action was no longer legal. Columbia had the same type of disagreement. Other campuses are, I don't think it's a wise thing for them to get into a fight with the federal government. If they are dependent on federal funding, these big private marquee universities,

Starting point is 00:01:41 Columbia, Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Stanford, Duke, and they want federal money, then the federal government is going to ask for some transparency. And we, the public, really don't know much about it. It's like a rock, a traditional rock on a moist ground. You don't want to turn it over because there's going to be things underneath there that you would better not, it would be better not to be seen. and that's what the public is going to learn about higher education. Now, what do I mean? I mean loans. These universities are raising tuition higher than the rate of inflation.

Starting point is 00:02:13 And that started when the federal government said, we will insure these loans for students. Once that happened, the moral hazard shifted away from the university. So they have been kind of gouging students for room board. I'll give you an example. Hillsdale College, its room board and tuition, is about four. $45,000 a year. It takes no money. Harvard gets about $9 billion in total. Its loom board and tuition is about $95,000. Same with Stanford. They're about double what Hillsdale charges. And one of the reasons is that

Starting point is 00:02:49 they're so dependent on federal money and therefore they can spend like drunken sailors. Remember, of that 1.7, about 10%, 8% or non-performing and about maybe 14% of, are late. The public doesn't know all that, but they're paying for it, especially kids, the half of the cohort 18 to 30 that's not going to college. They're subsidizing this university boondoggle. The second thing is the university doesn't really obey the first 10 amendments of the Constitution. If you get accused of particular crimes as a student, faculty member, let's say sexual harassment or untoward speech, hate speech, whatever, the term they use, it's very unlikely you're going to get fourth and fifth, maybe sixth amendment

Starting point is 00:03:38 protection. That is, you're not going to have an open hearing. You're not going to be tried by a jury of your peers. You're not going to necessarily have legal counsel. You're not necessarily going to be, know who your accusers are. The affirmative action ruling by the Supreme Court outlawed the use of race and admissions. And we have civil rights statutes that all. also do that, but the universities do something funny. They have safe spaces, they have theme houses, and they have auxiliary graduations, but the common denominator, they're predicated on race. So a black theme house, a Latino theme house, has almost very few people. Nobody would want a European so-called white theme house or an alternate white graduation, and you would say, well, why not, Victor?

Starting point is 00:04:31 Well, because it would be considered racist, I suppose, but at Stanford, only 22% of the student body are white. Are they going to say, well, we're one of the minorities now? Why don't we do this? That's where it will lead if you enhance tribalism. There's no intellectual diversity. The National Association of Scholars did a study not long ago. They found not one of the 133 faculty members at Brenmore was a Republican at Williams. I think they found one or two.

Starting point is 00:05:03 They found a lot of elite universities where there was nobody who openly acknowledge that they were a Republican. There are a couple of other things that are disturbing, too, and that is the universities get individual faculty grants, Department of Energy, National Institute of Health. And usually in most private foundations, the university is not following their model. What I mean is a private scholar at a think tank, they might deduct 15% for the use of the phone or office that they would get out of that federal grant. But universities like Stanford, Harvard, Princeton, they can go from 40 to 50 to 60%. And they're relying on that multimillion dollar, I guess we'd call it price gouging from the federal government. And finally, these universities don't have multi-million dollar endowments anymore.

Starting point is 00:05:58 They have multi-billion dollars, 30 billion, Stanford, 53. And they're predicated the income on that, and sometimes they get almost 10%. They're very good in investing. This $5 or $6 or $7 or $4 billion a year in income is tax-free for the most part. Tax-free, and that's predicated that they're non-political, they're nonpartisan. But when you look at the makeup of the faculty and the use of race and gender, contrary to federal law, you can see they're very partisan. So let me just sum up.

Starting point is 00:06:33 Does the university really want to get in a fight with the Trump administration and then bring all of this information about their endowments, their lack of intellectual diversity, their segregation, their lack of due process for people who undergo inquiries or accusations, their separate racial graduation, safe spaces, theme houses, the use of student loans, I don't think they want to do that. The public would be shocked, and it's a losing proposition. If I were the presidents of these major universities, I would do this. I would make a deal with the Trump administration, and I would welcome up, because then I would tell my

Starting point is 00:07:14 radical students, you can't wear a mask. I'd like you to, but the federal government won't let me. or we can't have racially segregated dorms anymore. I'd like to, but it's against the law. And that would be their way out. Is that going to happen? I don't think so. And I think we're going to see some accountability and the universities are not going to like the consequences.

Starting point is 00:07:39 This is Victor Davis-Hansson for the Daily Signal. Thank you for tuning in to the Daily Signal. Please like, share, and subscribe. to be notified for more content like this. You can also check out my own website at victorhansson.com and subscribe for exclusive features in addition.

The Daily Signal - My Advice for Ivy League Universities: Take the Trump Deal Before It’s Too Late | Victor Davis Hanson

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