The Trump administration’s attack on higher education continues. In response, the PSC has joined with other academic labor unions, lawmakers and student groups to resist cuts to federal university funding, government demands on administrators to eviscerate academic freedom and the targeting of international students by federal immigration agents.
The PSC participated in a major rally to demand “Hands off Higher Education” with other academic labor unions on April 17 at Foley Square in Manhattan. On April 25, PSC members marched with students from City College to Columbia University to demand an end to federal attacks on higher education.
Arturo Enamorado, a lecturer in behavioral sciences at Kingsborough Community College, speaks at a press conference by City Hall in defense of academic freedom. (Credit: Paul Frangipane)
UNITE THE COLLEGES
On April 24, PSC members stood with members of the City Council Progressive Caucus to demand that the city’s college and university presidents stand up to the administration’s attacks. A letter by the caucus demanded that administrators commit to the following: “Defend academic freedom and student expression,” “refuse collaboration with immigration enforcement on campuses,” “support immigrant and international students,” “uphold labor rights on campus” and “advocate for federal research and education funding.”
During a press conference with the caucus members and other academic unionists outside City Hall, PSC President James Davis said, “We know the reason the autocrats go after higher education. It’s the part of our culture that cannot be easily bought.”
Arturo Enamorado, a lecturer in behavioral sciences at Kingsborough Community College, spelled out how federal cuts have hurt New Yorkers.
“ACH, the Association for Computers and the Humanities, created a database of [National Endowment for the Humanities] grants, canceled by that marauding gang of thieves that calls itself DOGE,” he said. “There you can see for yourself the list of 1,434 NEH awards totaling over $400 million that have been wiped away across the country. New York State’s share only was $24 million. These projects included museum upgrades, expanded professional education, widened humanities curricula and opportunities for free access to new books.”
PSC President James Davis addresses the crowd at the ‘Hands off Higher Education’ rally in Foley Square in lower Manhattan. (Credit: Paul Frangipane)
DEVASTATION
Enamorado outlined the devastation in passionate detail. “At John Jay, a grant aimed at improved writing success of transfer students: cut. At the College of Staten Island, work on the global humanities curricula: cut,” he said. “Because of this MAGA administration, at Queens College, a $500 million STEM grant was canceled by the country’s largest private funder of biomedical research because of this president’s executive order requiring federal agencies to identify potential funding of [diversity, equity and inclusion] programs. The deplorable decision of this private foundation will not show up on a spreadsheet of lost grant money. But it happened. And it continues to happen.”
Days earlier, the CUNY Faculty Senate issued a statement demanding CUNY leaders forge an alliance with other administrators to protect higher education.
City Council Member Shahana Hanif joins her colleagues in the City Council Progressive Caucus in support of higher education. (Credit: Paul Frangipane)
“We urge the CUNY Board of Trustees and the CUNY Chancellery to formally propose and take a leading role in establishing an alliance among the public colleges and universities in New York State in defense of higher education, research and academic freedom,” the letter said. “Under this alliance, all participating institutions would cooperate to support any member institution under direct political or legal infringement. Such support would come by mobilizing consequences to preserve the institutions and resources they have built to further the common good and to recognize and respond to attacks on the fundamental right to higher education.”
Hunter College student Johanna Von Maack rallies students and supporters in front of Columbia University. (Credit: Paul Frangipane)
WORRIED STUDENTS
Students worry that the drastic cuts to the federal Department of Education could impact funding for financial aid, such as Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA. “I wonder who is on the other side of FAFSA,” Queens College education professor David Gerwin told The Knight News. “When you file a FAFSA, someone has to process that FAFSA, so I worry about moving things like Pell Grants and work-study. I worry about students who are eligible not getting their FAFSA processed, and not getting the Pell Grants that they need.”
PSC members continue to pressure CUNY leadership to take the lead on this resistance to the federal government, and to build alliances with other universities. Meanwhile, PSC members continue to build bridges with their comrades at other institutions.
UNEVEN CHARACTER
“The combined and uneven character of the building purge of U.S. higher education can make it hard to see commonalities across different institutions,” said Ashley Dawson, a distinguished professor of English at College of Staten Island and the Graduate Center, in an article in Truthout. “Indeed, one of the most shocking aspects of
Students, faculty and staff arrive in Foley Square after marching from Washington Square Park. (Credit: Paul Frangipane)
what has happened since the Trump regime began launching its attack has been the disunity of both universities and faculty members. To fight the purge of academia, we need to overcome our differences and form a common front that unites students, faculty, alumni, staff and advocates of academic freedom and freedom of speech.”
Dawson added, “This united front must extend from community colleges to public universities like my own, all of which have suffered from decades of bipartisan budget cuts that amount to an undeclared war on higher education. And, yes, of course it must also include elite research institutions like Columbia.”
Demonstrators arrive at Columbia University after marching from City College. (Credit: Paul Frangipane)
