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Carol Jones's avatar

Define curriculum. If it includes promoting DEI and trans agenda discarded by the trump administration which funds them - then by all means send a letter telling them to stop or be federally defunded

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Courtney Cook's avatar

You really want the government to manage the curriculum of a private university? The letter includes a request for an audit of all syllabi! Is that what you want your tax dollars to be spent on? The government overseeing what professors teach in their classrooms? Do you have any instinct to question the assumption that it's all "promoting DEI and trans"? Do you think in a university of 21,000 people that's all that is going on?

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Luna Maximus's avatar

They are no longer strictly private institutions when they seek, and receive, billions of taxpayer dollars. For 50 years government has been dictating to private institutions about how they manage their affairs, once they (or even worse, their students by accepting student aid of any sort) begin taking tax money. Weaponization goes both ways. I'm for both projects coming to an immediate halt.

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Courtney Cook's avatar

As I have said in other places. The government has a right to stop funding the colleges. But they don't have a right to put them into receivership and demand to audit their syllabi under threat of punitive action that has to do with the US tax code and not grant monies.

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gortroe's avatar

You are missing the point. Federal government should not be funding private universities, just as it doesn't fund private elementary and high schools.

Let Harvard do what they like, teach what they like...but on their dime, not mine.

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Gnomon Pillar's avatar

Why?

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TeeJae's avatar

"They are no longer strictly private institutions when they seek, and receive, billions of taxpayer dollars." -- Actually, in that sense they're more like private contractors that the government commissions to do certain work, like scientific research.

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Shelley's avatar

Why are you on this topic? Is it your fetish? What say you about Matt's subject of this SS?

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Courtney Cook's avatar

Yes - I read both at the same time, so I am somewhat conflating them. The underlying issue for me, is I see a lot of people cheering the end of the Biden era misinformation (which I also am cheering) but I don't see enough people putting the same level of skepticism onto the Trump administration.

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gortroe's avatar

There is no evidence yet of this Trump administration politicizing information to the degree that the Biden admin did. For better or for worse, Trump and Co are about as transparent as possible. Our Deep State that has wasted tax monies so egregiously is such a cancer that the only way to get rid of it on our way to health as a nation is to cut wide and deep.

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Shelley's avatar

I see court demanding grants continue to flow regardless of the receiver and the mission.

I do believe that there are people with access to Trump or his admin personnel that will direct attention to the remaining entities. I just hope they act on those yet remaining.

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Courtney Cook's avatar

It's true - I think they are litigating the definition of viewpoint discrimination and that's definitely something that we are going to have to let play out all across this country. But that's better than the government just deciding what it means without any input from citizens, Congress, or the judiciary.

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gortroe's avatar

I think the citizens have had input. They spoke loudly in the last election. that's how democracy works.

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gortroe's avatar

No private university is entitled to public funds. No other charter school gets them. The only legitimate use of public funds is for state colleges controlled by state legislatures.

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No's avatar

Literally the entire curriculum. All the courses offered.

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gortroe's avatar

Don't dither with curriculum review. Just stop funding any private university. They can do whatever they like as long as it's on their dime. State colleges can be overseen by state legislatures, in keeping with the original idea of education being a reserved power, along with insurance and banking.

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No's avatar

I would say just have better oversight over the funding itself. The government funds universities to promote overall scientific and technological development, a strategy which has worked extremely well for the last 70 years; we lead the world in science and technology. There is significant bloat now, though, so I don't have a problem with oversight and cutting.

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Gnomon Pillar's avatar

lol. The simple minds on this site are not to be believed.

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