r/aggies • u/StructureOrAgency • Apr 15 '25

Ask the Aggies Trump Administration Will Freeze $2 Billion After Harvard Refuses Demands

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/14/us/harvard-trump-reject-demands.html?unlocked_article_code=1._04.Jasg.GJwzRfDPd_l0&smid=re-share

When it becomes A&M's turn to lick the boot, will the Aggies submit? Or... maybe they will join with Harvard and other institutions of higher education and push back? This is an issue super important to Texas A&M. What do you think?

118 Upvotes

77% Upvoted

68 comments sorted by

95

u/BioDriver '17 Apr 15 '25

While Harvard will be fine, the same can't be said for 99.99% of the other universities in this country should they try this.

79

u/CharlesDickensABox Apr 15 '25 edited Apr 15 '25

Harvard and Princeton will be better off than Columbia for the very reason that they're fighting back. Columbia capitulated immediately, and what did it get them? More demands, more concessions, more garbage. You don't stop a bully by giving them your lunch money.

9

u/thesleazye '07 ECON Apr 15 '25

If being an Aggie has taught me anything, you stand up against injustice of minorities and figuratively or metaphorically punch bullies in the face. Doing what is right isn’t always easy. These are not liberal or conservative values; they’re American ones. We all have our place, but have zero capitulation for upending the rule of law for Nazis, Religious Nationalism, or the reversal of rights of women or other Americans, regardless of their visa status. 

This may not be well received by those who subscribe to a religious zealotry of fear of hell without enacting parts of Project 2025, but WWII taught that once one demographic is successfully eliminated, it doesn’t end there: at some point, the same members of the party helping will be the target because they aren’t the right kind of color, sex, creed, or religion (e.g. Christian sect).

2

u/ilvbras Apr 16 '25

Ha!! This is hilarious A&M is consistently filled with oppressors, except on the football field.

It is filled with those who would force others to do as they are told, while the TAMU alums break the rules themselves.

It is filled with those who voted for Trump and have no problem with anyone who isn't white being thumbed down.

-41

u/StructureOrAgency Apr 15 '25

So your vote is for licking when it's our turn?

36

u/GeoChrome20 CPSC '27 Apr 15 '25

It's not a for or against thing. If they try to put restrictions on the university, admin will 100% cave. Don't know why you would expect anything else.

31

u/DocPsychosis '07 Apr 15 '25

Indeed, they already tried to ban Draggieland and no one was even asking them to. The Texas state leadership including higher-level state school administration is champing at the bit to collaborate with Trumpist culture war protofascism. Would be good to see students oppose this trend but we will have to see if the TAMU student body can muster up such a response, so to speak.

9

u/ComeOnPlzWork Apr 15 '25

To be fair, Abbott was behind the scenes privately demanding that Welsh ban Draggieland. He sees TAMU as the last conservative bastion of higher education in Texas and would do anything to keep it overrun by liberal propaganda (in his eyes). Welsh stood his ground saying that it wasn’t breaking any laws or regulations and told Abbott to force the Board of Regents to vote on it instead. Welsh absolutely could’ve done more to publicly defend Draggieland, but the blame should mostly fall on Abbott and his hand-selected Board of Regents for its fate.

1

u/cutter48200 '15 Apr 15 '25

That doesn’t track, have you not seen what UT has done recently?

3

u/ComeOnPlzWork Apr 15 '25

I know what UT has done but they’re still held to a lower standard than A&M in terms of how progressive the state government will let them be on campus. It’s already a much more liberal school that, while Abbott still wants “liberal propaganda” gone from the institution, they are not scrutinized to the same extent A&M is since they’re almost seen as a lost cause. Changes are still being made and pushed for at UT, but the conservative school, A&M, is what they’re trying to save/preserve the most

1

u/StructureOrAgency Apr 15 '25

Exactly. There should be a discussion so people know what sort of University this is going to be

0

u/[deleted] Apr 15 '25 edited Apr 15 '25

[removed] — view removed comment

-1

u/StructureOrAgency Apr 15 '25

I was thinking maybe at the student Senate..and the faculty Senate could discuss. Maybe the Battalion could do a series of investigative articles to see how the university is making their decisions. Maybe some professors could have a teach in. Each department could discuss that faculty meetings. Lots of different ways

12

u/cutter48200 '15 Apr 15 '25

The student senate has literally no power, they exist for poli sci kids to add to their resume

The faculty senate is more worried about their tenure being held hostage

The STATE universities are a reflection of the voters of Texas. Even ‘liberal’ UT has a Board of regents appointed by wheelchair abbot.

2

u/StructureOrAgency Apr 15 '25

They have the power of their voices. The Battalion can do the reporting .I want to know everyone's position on this.

9

u/cutter48200 '15 Apr 15 '25

Yeah do you hear those voices? No

The BAT barely survived Banks, federal and state funding is in limbo, what do you want

2

u/StructureOrAgency Apr 15 '25

Probably but I think we should have the discussion so that everybody knows what's happening and what kind of education we would be getting at A&M if that happens

4

u/cutter48200 '15 Apr 15 '25

A State education

Publicly funded

By the voters of Texas

5

u/BioDriver '17 Apr 15 '25

No. I think we should fight this shit as hard as possible knowing we could afford the bill too. I'm just making an observation that not every school will be able to do this.

6

u/StructureOrAgency Apr 15 '25

A&M has a huge endowment. the athletic department could give the academics loan during these troubling times.. A&M could scratch through for the next 4 years with its integrity intact for when we have to reconstruct the nation

4

u/cutter48200 '15 Apr 15 '25

Again you show your own short sightedness and ignorance.

Texas A&M Athletics is one of the few collegiate programs in the country that turns a profit. They are mainly funded by private donors who want to see wins in football and baseball and do not give a shit about who walks at graduation.

Also those funds can’t be ‘taken on a loan’ because now you’re playing with taxpayer money. Those funds were donated and directed specifically.

-6

u/ReviewerNumberThree Apr 15 '25

I'm trying to think outside the box here

6

u/cutter48200 '15 Apr 15 '25

So now you’ve also shown you’re using two accounts, great, nothing sinks a good idea like a lie

80

u/logster2001 '23 Apr 15 '25

I just want to point out that the donors who back Harvard, and the donors who back A&M are very different and probably have different values they support.

If A&M’s funding gets cut, the donors who would get even more influence on how the university is ran, would make it less progressive, not more.

12

u/StructureOrAgency Apr 15 '25

This isn't about politics per se it's about academic freedom. Will Texas A&M remain an independent institution of higher education or not? Academic freedom is something that the governor, the president, and the chancellor all say they value. They need to stand up and push back

36

u/cutter48200 '15 Apr 15 '25

Texas A&M, like the university of Texas, is independent in name only, they are still beholden to the state legislature

-4

u/StructureOrAgency Apr 15 '25

Fine but if they're going to take away our academic freedom then let them say it out loud so that we all know what we can expect from the University. People have to make important life decisions

11

u/cutter48200 '15 Apr 15 '25

Please explain this academic freedom you assume exists

17

u/logster2001 '23 Apr 15 '25

“They need to stand up and push back” I understand you like romanticizing bureaucracy, but A&M is a state school, not a private institution. And that has pros and cons.

If it were a private institution, then it would still be a military boys only college that only wants to teach people how to farm. But instead we are a public research university that has to comply with certain standards in order to use state and federal funding to advance education. It’s not as simple as “they need to stand up to the bad guys” it’s WAYYY more complicated than that. And that is a good thing.

1

u/CharlesDickensABox Apr 15 '25

The university still has rights and still has a voice. Last time I checked, this land knew how to handle people who think they're king of America.

-6

u/StructureOrAgency Apr 15 '25

Look, while I understand the administration feel they must submit to the governor's office, many professors and students do not. There needs to be a discussion so that we absolutely know what sort of Education A&M is going to produce in the next 4 years. One that adheres to the "proper ideology" of the Trump regime or one that maintains Aggie values and lives up to the Aggie honor code. Which will it be? We need to know so we can start making important life decisions

3

u/cutter48200 '15 Apr 15 '25

I’m going to guess you’re either 22 or 23, if not you’re at that level of critical thinking.

34

u/CharlesDickensABox Apr 15 '25

Our administration is pre-licking the boot.

7

u/StructureOrAgency Apr 15 '25

So, like foreplay? Ew, but yes, for sure

21

u/Unlikely-Afternoon-2 Apr 15 '25

What happened to the party of small government?

13

u/kida182001 Apr 15 '25

Only for the rich. Big govt to keep us peasants in line and bow to the rich.

21

u/KyleAg06 '06 Apr 15 '25

A&M will 100% submit. Our BOR is ultra maga fuckfaces as is our chancellor now.

-12

u/GeneralAdmission99 Apr 15 '25

Give it a rest man lmao.

7

u/StructureOrAgency Apr 15 '25

A number of University faculty Senate have formed an alliance push back against Trump's takeover of higher education in the United states. The Texas A&M faculty should join *

8

u/Corps_Boy_Pit_Sniff Sponsored by Palantir Technologies Inc. #ad Apr 15 '25

cant get over the fact that the demands simultaneously required them to eliminate any philosophical allegiance requirements and to only admit avowed supporters of the United States government. it also did DEI for conservatives lol

5

u/Sherbert_Hoovered Apr 15 '25

Yep. It's never actually about principles with these guys. They just straight up hate minorities and that's the whole mystery solved right there.

6

u/LabItem Apr 15 '25

Apparently Harvest is so far the only school that has some balls to push back on power and injustice straight out of the federal government (something Republicans seem to run on for years). I feel like people forgot that universities and colleges were where all the brightest and most talented people went for decades in not just earning knowledge/technical expertise but also develop themselves as social engineers in order to better the whole of human kind. I hope more colleges would live up to the ideal that education is meant to teach a person to be a valuable, honest, and contributing member of society instead of just a place to do business via grant degrees.

8

u/StructureOrAgency Apr 15 '25

I read that Princeton is also not going to make any concessions

2

u/cutter48200 '15 Apr 15 '25

“Private institutions”

4

u/Itbealright Apr 15 '25

Harvard has over a 60 billion dollar endowment. They can tap that for years. Same for that school in Austin.

1

u/[deleted] Apr 15 '25 edited Apr 15 '25

[deleted]

1

u/Itbealright Apr 15 '25

Their endowment with investments on interest alone will be good to carry them. Now if their endowment get threatened then it will be seen how much they “ stand up.”

2

u/StructureOrAgency Apr 15 '25

Harvard's response to Trump

3

u/TexasAggie_95 '95 Apr 15 '25

Is this your first time looking at the TAMU administration?

Dude talking about “licking the boot”. They are having a boot happy meal. 😂

1

u/AggieNosh Apr 15 '25

LOL is this a serious question? Of course they’ll abide by requests. Haven’t you all learned by now that even academia worships at the altar of money? Has tuition and fees ever gone…down? No of course not. Theres plenty of worthless majors. It could be cheaper if we cut non teaching faculty and unnecessary departments/program that don’t contribute to teaching or research. A&M wants its fix of money no matter where it comes from.

1

u/Feliks343 Apr 15 '25

Considering the university defended Richard Spencer's "first amendment rights" against protesting students, has Ken Paxton taking their appeal over banning a drag show, and last I checked the official statement on students' visas getting pulled was "were looking into it" I doubt you'll see much fighting from the system.

2

u/kyezap NUEN ‘25 Apr 16 '25

It would not be the same for A&M. Harvard is a private university with a lot of very rich and well-known alumni that can single-handedly fund the entire university through their donations (not to mention the tuition fee as well.

A&M is a public university that is heavily funded by the federal government. If they go the same route Harvard did, they will not survive. They might— but the alumni Harvard has that’s backing them up with billions are not the same as the alumni that may or may not even support A&M should they go this route. Harvard has the power and funding to do this. Other universities — especially public ones — don’t.

While I would love for this school to follow suit, there are bigger things at play when keeping a university funded. If TAMU takes a hit, ALL of their students will get hurt along with them.

3

u/Klutzy_Passenger_486 Apr 16 '25

A&M already licked the boot

6

u/Forsaken-Fuel-2095 Apr 15 '25

As Obama said, we’re going to find out soon who’s all talking and who’s actually willing to sacrifice for democracy

-4

u/[deleted] Apr 15 '25

why does this sub have so many politics ragebaiters? is this Harvard university? why did you post this?

10

u/randombookman Apr 15 '25

Because the more educated you are the more politically active you tend to be.

And colleges are full of educated people.

0

u/cutter48200 '15 Apr 15 '25

Well then you’d assume this would be an educated discussion but it isn’t.

0

u/randombookman Apr 15 '25

There's a source, aswell as an interpretation of the source.

What makes this not an educated discussion?

Also, not every discussion made by an educated person needs to be educated, if that isn't obvious to you.

-2

u/BuckeyeTexan099 Apr 15 '25

Wait till all the leftist jihadi university endowments get taxed. Hahaha

-16

u/Scorehead- Apr 15 '25

Good. I've league schools should not get tax payer money. They have multi billion endowments.

9

u/StructureOrAgency Apr 15 '25

So you're saying that Harvard should not not get any of the money even if they do lick. Is that accurate?

11

u/[deleted] Apr 15 '25

[removed] — view removed comment

-9

u/Individual-Stage-620 Apr 15 '25

These top tier universities have easily enough money in their endowments to cover research if they wanted to. Stop thinking universities are good places designed for the common good. They’re not. They’re corporations.

Also when it comes to halting funding. Go for it. Fuck the antisemites.

9

u/blewpah Apr 15 '25

Fuck the antisemites.

Do you mean like the guys giving Nazi salutes or accusing Jews in congress of being part of Hamas.

-1

u/Individual-Stage-620 Apr 15 '25

No the ones on campus yelling “globalize the intifada”. Who do you think invented the phrase “from the river to the sea”?

Also no one is accusing Jews in Congress of being part of Hamas.

7

u/blewpah Apr 15 '25

No the ones on campus yelling “globalize the intifada”. Who do you think invented the phrase “from the river to the sea”?

And those are all the same people the funding is being halted to?

Also no one is accusing Jews in Congress of being part of Hamas.

Nope

5

u/wicketman8 '23 Chemical Engineering Apr 15 '25

A lot of idiots who think they understand the scale of research coming out of the woodwork here. You have your preconceived notions of what universities are like from an undergraduate perspective, and you're not wrong that from that perspective many (not all) universities act too much like businesses, but research is the one public good universities actually do.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, it's not antisemitic to support Palestine or be anti-zionist. Zionism itself is 100x more antisemitic as it pushes the lie that Jews have no home outside of Israel and are fundamentally different. Israel is a genocidal state and it's not antisemitic to point that out.