Dear American universities,
As you seek to protect your bottom line in the most myopic way possible, please remember that the parents of today’s children will not forget. I will not forget which universities would sacrifice their independence, and the right of their students and faculty to name injustice when they see it. My daughter may be only six, and my son only eight, but Columbia will forever remain on the list of institutions to which I will never send a dime.
To my alma mater Dartmouth and its “general policy of restraint;” a gag order laughably dressed up as a “commit[ment] to free speech,” I appeal not to your ethics — it seems you have none — but to your own self-interest. As America’s “elite” institutions prepare to exist in a country where your funding is tied directly to the speech you allow, ask yourself what role you really have to play in such a country. Once you’ve sold your reputation for this year’s funding, what will you have to sell next time? Are today’s concessions the last you’re willing to make? As you prepare for a country in which universities must choose between independence and federal funding, why not instead prepare to fight this travesty?
College is meant to be a place for young people to develop not only their knowledge, but independence and strength of character. When the time comes for my children to choose a college, that choice will be theirs to make, or reject altogether. But no matter what, I won’t help to fund any institution willing to trade its principles for a short-term payout. I doubt I’m the only one. So please think carefully about the compromises you’re willing to make, because we will not forget.
Anton Hasenkampf ‘06
Opinion articles represent the views of their author(s), which are not necessarily those of The Dartmouth.
