Trump's sweeping orders threaten to undermine public higher education
Trump's sweeping orders threaten to undermine public higher education
MTA President Max Page and Vice President Deb McCarthy issued the following statement in response to actions and statements by the Trump administration that threaten to undermine public higher education.
The Massachusetts Teachers Association — especially the 18,000 staff members and faculty who make our 29 public colleges and universities run — will staunchly defend the integrity, quality and accessibility of our state’s public colleges and universities. Our union calls on elected officials and campus administrators to join us in unequivocally committing their support for students, staff and faculty at public and private colleges.
Education nurtures democracy and provides students with economic opportunities. The Commonwealth’s five-campus UMass system, nine state universities and 15 community colleges act together as an engine of civic and economic strength, one that drives the quality of life in our state.
This is only possible as long as our colleges and universities stay true to a shared mission of welcoming inquiry, research and study from a broad array of perspectives, and ensuring that the views of individuals and communities that have been marginalized and oppressed are included in academic pursuits. Likewise, our campuses must be open to all individuals who are ready to pursue higher education.
The president’s sweeping orders threaten to defund research, deport international scholars, stifle free speech and attack the work of those who seek a more open, just and fair society.
The Trump administration has unleashed chaos with the president’s sweeping orders that threaten to defund research, deport international scholars, stifle free speech and attack the work of those who seek a more open, just and fair society.
Our union’s leaders and members have been meeting to share information and develop plans to protect our students and our work. Staff at grant-funded centers devoted to building a more equitable world are feeling imperiled. Workers are dismayed as their campuses cower and heed the administration’s edicts to eliminate references to diversity, equity and inclusion from websites and written communications. Members of our campus communities who are immigrants or who do not identify themselves along binary gender definitions are fearful and feel vulnerable. These attacks are an attempt to dismantle the qualities — including access for working people, public interest research and sites for civic discussion — that have made our public higher education system the envy of the world and fueled economic growth and equity for the better part of a century. We will not let that happen.
The solidarity of our union will not be broken. We will not abandon our values. We call on Beacon Hill and campus administrations to take the steps necessary to protect the rights of students, staff and faculty and to stand ready to replace any research funding stripped away by the federal government.
Our mission remains unchanged: to fight for debt-free access to high-quality public colleges and universities that live up to the ideals of democracy and freedom. The residents of Massachusetts deserve nothing less.