This academic year, defined by unprecedented hostility between the federal government and elite universities, has been no less eventful than the last. The torrent of recent developments at Brown, from a student’s visa revocation to an investigation by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, has caused great unease on College Hill.
We are staring down the barrel of the most serious threat to academic freedom and integrity in a generation. The battles, both grassroots and institutional, have already begun. Protests have enveloped campuses from Hanover to Philadelphia, and Harvard recently became the first Ivy League institution to sue the federal government over a funding freeze.
Given all there is at stake, activism will likely not be getting a break anytime soon. But this time, we must keep our messaging focused and on-topic — attempting to advocate for every issue risks alienating potential allies whose participation is necessary for an effective defense.
As grassroots activists, our goal must be to attract the largest coalition possible because in a democracy, there is safety in numbers. If we mix support for one issue with another and another — as seen with the blending of pro-Palestine and labor movements here at Brown — we create a convoluted web of political standpoints that only narrows our appeal and alienates potential supporters. To rally the numbers needed to challenge the Trump administration, we will require the support of those who may not share all our views.
We must also recognize that public interest is an extremely limited commodity. While Brown is built on intellectual curiosity, there are many students and potential allies who are not politically conscious. If we make every issue into a mountain, we risk overwhelming them and thereby diluting the authority of our words. The attention and dedication of otherwise indifferent people is crucial to our success. Without them, we will yet again become fodder to mainstream media as representatives of nothing more than privilege and radicalism.
The Ivy League, composed of eight wealthy private institutions, does not usually attract public sympathy. I frankly find it nothing short of remarkable that so many have rallied in our support, and there may never be another opportunity quite like this. It is time we use this valuable momentum to target the issues that matter most to our lives: relentless attacks on universities and their students.
I am confident in our ability to fight these attacks on our institution, but only if we are determined not to repeat our past mistakes. So when we get out there, let’s condemn Trump’s attacks on institutional freedom. Let’s criticize the Department of Homeland Security’s unjustified and arbitrary treatment of international students. But let’s also keep it to just that.
Lucas Guan ’27 can be reached at lucas_guan @brown.edu. Please send responses to this column to letters@browndailyherald.com and other opinions to opinions@browndailyherald.com.
