Since our last editorial on the topic of the Trump administration and its impact on Middlebury College, the onslaught against higher education has continued. One of the most concerning actions has been the withdrawal of federal funding from several colleges and universities under the rationale of open antisemitism investigations under Title XI. Columbia University has been the main target of this tightening, with $400 million being withheld unless the school falls in line with federal mandates on its curriculum, university-wide policies for protests, and conservative ideologies. The usurpation of higher education’s independence directly threatens academic freedom by forcing compliance to certain standards and limiting opportunities of free expression.
Middlebury may be next on Trump’s chopping block. We are one of 60 colleges who received a letter warning against antisemitism last month, and in its silence on the destruction of higher education, Middlebury has largely admitted an unspoken truth: we cannot stop the wrecking ball that may be coming for our institution, our classrooms and most importantly our students.
The situation of international and undocumented students feels especially precarious, which is highly relevant to a school that prides itself on its cultural diversity and rigorous language and study abroad programs. The detainment of a Turkish graduate student from Tufts University after she denounced the university’s support of Israel in an op-ed in the Tufts Daily was especially alarming and reminds us that NESCAC schools — and student newspapers such as our own — are not immune to the unpredictable scrutiny of the Trump administration.
Middlebury is within the 100-mile border zone of Canada, exposing us to border enforcement in a unique way, since there is a high likelihood of the presence of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in our community. ICE agents were recently spotted at Porter Hospital, and they may soon be on campus in public spaces. Many international students have been advised to carry personal identification documents as well as immigration documents.
Middlebury College owes its students a level of transparency and accountability it is currently missing in order to uphold its central promise to its students: safety during their four years on campus here, no matter visas, immigration status or other aspects of their identity. The Trump administration has pushed us into uncharted territory with its attack on higher education, and there is no right answer at this moment.
The vastly different approaches of various colleges — from Columbia’s submission to Wesleyan’s fiery president writing defenses of academia in the New York Times — forces us to reflect on our own uniquely transitional moment as we move to new leadership this summer. While this may inspire and allow the administration to keep a low profile, it does not mean we will accept a lack of assertiveness and accountability.
We understand the college has fallen back on its “three pillars”: the right of academic freedom, the responsibility of personal and professional integrity and the value of respect. However, it is not enough to simply restate these ideas — especially when these are ideas that few, if any, students have seriously heard before now. When our so-called fundamental pillars are under threat by investigations, deportations and funding cuts, the college also has a duty to defend its principles.
Faculty and students should not be passive actors in this either. Professors, when comfortable, should offer themselves as resources to students by having in-class conversations about what this new reality means and allowing such conversations to continue in office hours. Students also have a responsibility to educate themselves about their rights when dealing with law enforcement and best practices — it is no longer acceptable to rely on the Middlebury bubble to protect us.
We understand from the very end of the same email that outlined the “three pillars” that several functions of the Office of Institutional Diversity, Enquiry and Inclusion (OIDEI) will be relocated to Student Affairs and the Office of General Counsel. The college is likely making a tactical readjustment as other universities have in recent weeks, yet it appears unable to admit the dismantling of a core department in the school-wide email that left the matter so vague that no one truly understood what its future held.
If the college preaches the value of respect, it should respect the student body enough to explain clearly why such changes are necessary and whether key resources like Title XI office or the Anderson Freeman Center (AFC) will be damaged in the transition. Currently, Middlebury seems terrified of subpoenas that will dredge up these kinds of administrative messages as fodder for a congressional hearing or federal investigation. Such paralysis is harmful to students, who want the college to maintain its commitment to a welcoming campus environment even in the face of scrutiny.
We recognize that the situation is still unpredictable. There is not a set path with the right approach, and we must tread lightly. We are aware that most of the exchange of information is happening behind closed doors, with questions being directed towards the Office of International Student and Scholar Services (ISSS) and the Office of General Counsel.
There could be greater transparency from the administration and more salient efforts to educate the student body through emails, workshops, posters and other measures to allow students to feel as safe as possible. The administration has supplied faculty and staff with notecards and other resources explaining what to do if an ICE agent walks through the door of a classroom, but there are no prominent, public resources available for students to rely on in that kind of situation.
At the end of the day, Middlebury needs to make calculated decisions to not only protect the safety of students and faculty but also our academic institutions. There are limitations to what we can do, but inaction is not an answer.
The college’s first priority should be the people it is charged with protecting on campus. This means we should not only foster an atmosphere of creativity, innovation and diversity of thought, but one prepared to withstand attacks to dismantle it.
