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Isaac Kamola @isaackamola.bsky.social · 1d

Sign-on letter to oppose Trump's (extortion) "compact" for higher ed institutions. actionnetwork.org/petitions/un...

University Administrations: Reject Trump's "Loyalty Oath" Compacts

The Trump administration is trying to blackmail schools to let him and his unqualified bureaucrats run our schools. They want to dictate what schools teach, who they admit and hire, what researchers s...

actionnetwork.org

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Isaac Kamola @isaackamola.bsky.social · 1d

Great piece @insidehighered.com by Robert Post and Tom Ginsburg about the considerable threats posed by Trump's (extortion) "compact" with 9 universities. @aaup.org

www.insidehighered.com/opinion/view...

A Compact for Control (opinion)

No self-respecting institution of higher education should accept the Trump administration’s unconstitutional terms, Robert Post and Tom Ginsburg write.

www.insidehighered.com

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Isaac Kamola @isaackamola.bsky.social · 1d

Excited to see this collection of articles out in the world! Kaufman-Osborn's "The Autocratic Academy" is a must-read for those working on issues of university governance. TKO reminds us that we have legal mechanisms for creating different kinds of corporate entities...including worker-run co-ops!

PS: Political Science & Politics @pspolisci.bsky.social · 1d

Now on FirstView: a Profession Spotlight guest edited by @isaackamola.bsky.social! Rethinking the Corporate University: An Engagement with Kaufman-Osborn’s The Autocratic Academy

The collection is free to read through the end of November here: shorturl.at/4vWqV

#polisky

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The Atlantic @theatlantic.com · 3d

Donald Trump is offering nine universities funding if they sign a compact that’s a “complete adoption of the MAGA high-education agenda,” Kevin Carey writes. The document is “shot through with the tensions that mark Trumpism in its latest form”:

A Deal That Would End Universities’ Independence

The free-speech provisions of the so-called compact are an exercise in contradiction.

bit.ly

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Anil Kalhan @akalhan.bsky.social · 3d

Big Bad Wolf says he has no plans to eat Little Red Riding Hood

Samuel Alito says he isn't calling for overturning same-sex marriage ruling

An appeal currently pending at the court is asking for the landmark decision, in which the conservative justice dissented, to be cast aside.

www.nbcnews.com

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Reposted by Isaac Kamola

Brian Soucek @brsoucek.bsky.social · 4d

Strong statement today from UC's Academic Senate:

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Veena Dubal @veenadubal.bsky.social · 4d

“Mr. Rowan, who is chief executive of Apollo Global Management, and Stephen A. Schwarzman, the chief executive of Blackstone — are helping shape seismic discussions related to the Trump administration’s campaign to upend American campuses.”

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/03/u...

The Billionaire Behind Trump’s Deal for Universities

www.nytimes.com

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Isaac Kamola @isaackamola.bsky.social · 4d

This is great news! Maybe the wall will hold?

Jeff Sharlet @jeffsharlet.bsky.social · 4d

It appears that my employer, Dartmouth, one of the Trump 9, has said no to the compact. All the better given that our president is cited within it. But she’s saying no. Count the small victories when they come.

Office of the President
Dear Dartmouth community,

As many of you know, Dartmouth was one of nine universities asked by the White House to give feedback by Oct. 20 on a draft of its “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education.”

I am deeply committed to Dartmouth’s academic mission and values and will always defend our fierce independence.

You have often heard me say that higher education is not perfect and that we can do better. At the same time, we will never compromise our academic freedom and our ability to govern ourselves.

Best,
Sian Leah Beilock
President

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Matthew Boedy @matthewboedy.bsky.social · 6d

Still time to register for Monday's @aaup.org webinar on the state-backed threat to independent higher education accreditation www.aaup.org/event/politi...

Politicizing Accreditation in the South and Beyond

This webinar will explore the historic importance of independent accreditation systems for maintaining professional norms and standards for public higher education and examine the threats a politicize...

www.aaup.org

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Isaac Kamola @isaackamola.bsky.social · 5d

"If we are not willing to lose things, then we are going to lose everything." @mauraf.bsky.social

youtu.be/A74eAZMgLjw?...

Faculty on the Front Lines teaser with captions

YouTube video by TheAAUP

youtu.be

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Isaac Kamola @isaackamola.bsky.social · 5d

4/ A statement from the always awesome @aaup-penn.bsky.social reminding the admin that they already made concessions and are now being extorted once again (hey, admin out there, listen to your AAUP chapters!): aaup-penn.org/news/

News | AAUP–Penn

aaup-penn.org

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Isaac Kamola @isaackamola.bsky.social · 5d

3/ The AAUP/AFT statement calling on "all college and university governing boards, campus administrations, academic disciplinary organizations...to reject such collusion with the Trump administration and to stand firmly on the side of free expression" www.aaup.org/news/univers...

Universities Must Reject Trump Admin "Loyalty Oath" Compacts

The AAUP and AFT warn that the Trump administration’s offer to give preferential treatment to colleges and universities in exchange for allegiance to a partisan ideological agenda is entirely corrupt.

www.aaup.org

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Isaac Kamola @isaackamola.bsky.social · 5d

2/ An excelent substack by @cantb.bsky.social "speaking directly to university leaders. The last, and perhaps most important, thing that I want to impress upon anyone considering entering The Compact is that it’s the beginning, not the end." brendancantwell.substack.com/p/a-rotten-c...

A Rotten Compact

The Trump Administrations Proposed Compact opens the door for federal control of higher education.

brendancantwell.substack.com

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Isaac Kamola @isaackamola.bsky.social · 5d

1/ Trump's latest "loyalty oath" aimed at nine academic institutions is really scary. The latest phase in the Orbanification of American higher education. For all those out there thinking about how to respond, here are a few resources that might be useful: @aaup.org @aft.org @aftct.bsky.social

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Jonathan Feingold @jpygold.bsky.social · 6d

"What they did was weaponize Title VI."

"If we are not willing to lose things, then we are going to lose everything."

This & so much more in videos of professors punished for their speech. shout out @aaup.org @isaackamola.bsky.social Center on the Defense of Academic Freedom.

Faculty on the Front Lines teaser with captions

YouTube video by TheAAUP

youtu.be

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Gregg Gonsalves @gregggonsalves.bsky.social · 6d

This is extortion. Faculty, students, staff, alumni across the country need to get to their Presidents & Trustees today. Just say no. This blackmail only works if most everyone folds. Capitulation now means the end of American higher education for a generation. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/02/u...

Trump Administration Asks Colleges to Sign ‘Compact’ to Get Funding Preference

www.nytimes.com

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Isaac Kamola @isaackamola.bsky.social · 6d

Yes. Concession to Trump/MAGA is not a viable strategy for higher education.

Karl Jacoby @karl-jacoby.bsky.social · 6d

Note that the Trump Administration is already going back to schools with whom it earlier reached "deals" (such as UPenn and Brown) for further concessions. Conceding to a bully has only emboldened them to make new demands.

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Michael Hobbes @michaelhobbes.bsky.social · 6d

We're getting a wave of articles that are like, "gee willikers it sure seems like the people who complained about 'cancel culture' for years really like canceling people."

Yes! This was extremely obvious at the time and a lot of us pointed it out!

The Washington Post @washingtonpost.com · 6d

Some say canceling is an act of redress. Others blame it on a mob.

“People have used the word ‘cancel’ so loosely,” Ernest Owens author of “The Case for Cancel Culture,” said, “that everyone’s calling everything a cancellation.”

How cancel culture came for everyone

Few issues in recent years have united the American right as much as their professed hatred of cancel culture. That’s changing.

www.washingtonpost.com

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Texas Conference of the AAUP @texasaaup.bsky.social · 6d

👀We’ll be watching this amazing new series about “Faculty on the Frontlines” highlighting the courage of faculty across the country who are fighting back! Proud of our Texas colleagues Dr. Judith Norman and Dr. Jairo Fúnez-Flores who are featured here!! 👏✊👇

AAUP @aaup.org · 7d

Introducing “Faculty on the Frontlines,” a new series from the Center for the Defense of Academic Freedom that documents the stories of AAUP members!

Over the next 2 weeks, we will spotlight the stories of 10 AAUP members fighting to defend academic freedom.

Check out our teaser 🔥

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Isaac Kamola @isaackamola.bsky.social · 6d

Finding the opposites of nouns is one of my favorite car trim games! I love this one.

Up there with: The opposite of Minecraft is a ball pit.

mr potato @tweetpotato314.bsky.social · 7d

sheet music is like the exact opposite of an audio book

Reposted by Isaac Kamola

AAUP @aaup.org · 7d

Introducing “Faculty on the Frontlines,” a new series from the Center for the Defense of Academic Freedom that documents the stories of AAUP members!

Over the next 2 weeks, we will spotlight the stories of 10 AAUP members fighting to defend academic freedom.

Check out our teaser 🔥

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Isaac Kamola @isaackamola.bsky.social · 7d

This is what happens when you put crooks, charlatans, and grifters in charge of academic institutions....yes, I'm looking at you Rufo and Corcoran...

Will Bunch @willbunch.bsky.social · 7d

You'll be shocked to learn New College of Florida is on the brink of implosion just a couple of years after DeSantis engineered an extreme right-wing takeover

Fun fact: NCF's new overlords spend $134K per student (!!...the average at other FL publics is $10K) www.insidehighered.com/news/governa...

Spending Soars, Rankings Fall at New College of Florida

Student outcomes and rankings are slipping at the liberal arts college while spending is up. Critics believe the college is at risk of implosion, and some are calling for privatization.

www.insidehighered.com

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Isaac Kamola @isaackamola.bsky.social · 7d

I have no idea how to make a meme, but if I did it would go something like this:

----
A representation of the "@aaup.org vs. Rubio" decision

A faculty member, head in hands, saying "Damn it. Now I actually gotta join the AAUP..."

----
Funny? On second thought, maybe this Gen Xer shouldn't meme.

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Ruha Benjamin @ruha9.bsky.social · 9d

So, at the very least, we all need to be joining or starting an AAUP chapter:

www.aaup.org/chapters/fin...

Find a Chapter

A list of AAUP chapters, both unionized and nonunionized. (You can also see a list of just union chapters.)

www.aaup.org

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AAUP @aaup.org · 8d

BREAKING: WE WON!!!
💥 💥 💥

Federal Judge William G. Young ruled today in our lawsuit against the Trump administration that the policy of arresting, detaining, & deporting noncitizen students & faculty members for their pro-Palestinian advocacy violates the 1st Amendment.

Full ruling here:

Findings of Fact & Conclusions of Law – #261 in American Association of University Professors v. Rubio (D. Mass., 1:25-cv-10685) – CourtListener.com

Judge William G. Young: ORDER entered. FINDINGS OF FACT AND RULINGS OF LAW, PURSUANT TO FED. R. CIV. P. 52(A)(Sonnenberg, Elizabeth) (Additional attachment(s) added on 9/30/2025: # 1 Main Document) (J...

www.courtlistener.com

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