On Friday afternoon, approximately 200 students rallied on the Main Green, calling on the University to stand up to President Trump’s recent federal actions that have targeted Brown and other institutions of higher education.
Earlier this month, the White House confirmed to The Herald that the Trump administration plans to freeze $510 million of Brown’s federal funding over alleged antisemitism and diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. The federal government has also revoked the visas of at least one current student and several recent graduates and instructed staff to freeze all funding from the National Institutes of Health to the University.
While the Trump administration has not yet publicly announced the freeze nor given Brown a list of demands it must agree to in order to stop the freeze, both current and prospective students have expressed concerns about the cuts and Brown’s ability to continue supporting students and research on campus.
Friday’s rally was organized by Sunrise Brown in support of the Do Not Comply campaign, which demands the University “make definitive commitments to protect free speech and academic freedom, stop student deportations, fight fascism and reject the weaponization of antisemitism,” according to a Do Not Comply campaign statement.
In recent weeks, Do Not Comply has circulated a petition demanding the University resist the federal government’s threats, stating that “Brown must hold the line against this all-out assault on free speech and diversity at America’s colleges.”
President Christina Paxson P’19 P’MD’20 has repeatedly affirmed the University’s commitment to free speech, writing in a public letter before news of the freeze that if Brown were faced with threats to “our ability to perform essential academic and operational functions, we would be compelled to vigorously exercise our legal rights to defend these freedoms.”
Upon hearing of the planned freeze on Brown’s funding, around 60 students met to discuss a potential response, according to rally organizer Simon Aron ’28.
“It felt like a really scary moment,” Aron told The Herald. The 60 students formed Do Not Comply to pressure Brown not to comply with the Trump administration.
While the rally was initially scheduled for Thursday, Aron said organizers learned that a naturalization ceremony — which is the final step to becoming a U.S. citizen — would be taking place at the same time in Sayles Hall. Aron said rally organizers expressed concern that holding a student demonstration in such close proximity to the ceremony would “increase the likelihood of federal agents being on our campus,” leading them to postpone the protest.
Aron also noted that a Columbia student who was involved with pro-Palestine student activism was detained during a naturalization interview on Monday. “We just didn’t want to take that risk” at Brown, Aron said.
In a speech at the rally, Professor of Molecular Biology, Cell Biology and Biochemistry Kenneth Miller ’70 highlighted the importance of preserving institutions of higher education, as Brown and other universities “make dialogue and dissent possible.”
Given the role of these institutions, the federal government’s attempts to “gut, undermine and flush scientific inquiry in this country by a number of mechanisms” are especially detrimental, Miller said. Since Trump took office, at least $8 million in grants awarded to Brown researchers have been terminated and additional freezes are expected.
In another speech at the rally, Jesse Mathis ’27 said that in light of how rapidly events have been unfolding in recent weeks, “all eyes are on Brown” as community members and the public await its response to the federal government.
Brown’s administration, Mathis said, has a choice to make: “whether they keep going down that road of a fascist takeover of our University, or whether they’re going to be strong and fight back and commit to protecting students.”
Miller urged Brown to pursue legal action against the Trump administration, arguing that the University would be successful given the lack of legal basis for the government’s actions. “I hear that our University knows some talented attorneys,” he said.
On Monday, Brown joined eight other universities and several education organizations in filing a lawsuit against the Department of Energy to prevent funding cuts. A federal judge has issued an order temporarily stopping the cuts.
In February, Brown, 12 other universities and the same three educational organizations also filed a lawsuit against the NIH to stop widespread cuts to research funding. A federal judge issued a permanent injunction against these cuts on April 4, but the NIH has since appealed the decision.
Miller told attendees that the rally was “not a protest against Brown University, the Brown Corporation or any other group on campus.”
Instead, Miller said, rally participants will continue to support administrators as Brown deals with attempts to “gut the moral fiber and being of this University.”
Annika Singh is a senior staff writer from Singapore who enjoys rewatching Succession and cheating on the NYT crossword.
