Morris Signs Letter Against Trump 

Over 200 leaders of US colleges, universities, and scholarly societies signed a statement rebuking the Trump administration’s “unprecedented government overreach and political interference now endangering American higher education.” St. Lawrence University President Kathryn Morris is a signatory in the letter published early Tuesday by the American Association of Colleges and Universities. Morris joins other presidents from small liberal arts colleges, large state schools, and most of the Ivy League and equivalent institutions in their call for a “constructive engagement” with the administration. 

The statement was penned in the context of the administration’s ongoing attempts to withhold billions of dollars in federal grants to several of the nation’s most prestigious universities unless they relinquished aspects of institutional autonomy regarding student admissions and penalizing those involved in pro-Palestine protests on campus. Some university leaders have individually criticized the administration’s stance and indicated they would not abide by its 

demands. However, this statement marks the first time they have spoken out collectively on the matter. 

The leaders have defended their position as institutions committed to “serve as centers of open inquiry where, in their pursuit of truth, faculty, students, and staff are free to exchange ideas and opinions across a full range of viewpoints without fear of retribution, censorship, or deportation.” While some university presidents have individually criticized the administration’s stance and indicated they would not abide by its demands, the statement marks the first time they have spoken out collectively on the matter.