The president of Spellman College said that during the Trump era, black students flocked to Hbcus, “their history has not been erased.” American politics

when Beverly Daniel Tatum He told a friend that she was writing a book about higher education, and he replied: “I think being a university president must be the hardest job in the United States.” Indeed, the 2023-24 school year is “Annus Horribilis According to the Chronicle of Higher Education, for the University President.

That’s forward Donald Trump Return to the White House and try to surrender them to his will.

Over the past seven months, the U.S. President Targeted elite universitiesaccusing them of promoting anti-Semitism, liberal bias and non-American diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. His administration has frozen billions of dollars in federal research funding to align institutions with ideological goals.

“I wish I knew what motivated it,” said former President Tatum. Spellman CollegeThis is one of the major historic Black Colleges (HBCUS) in the United States, from Zoom in Atlanta. “It’s really confusing given that higher education in America is the jealousy of the world.

“Many institutions are the main source of imported talent and are the main source of reputation in terms of research and innovation, which has been a long time since. It’s not clear to me why anyone would want to disrupt this. Unfortunately, this approach is breaking in this way, and I think it’s going to be bad for the United States in the long term.”

Tatum, 70, was president of Spelman from 2002 to 2015, describing the period as “the best years of my life.” She received an award for her outstanding lifelong contribution to psychology, the highest honor given by the American Psychological Association. She also wrote four books, including bestsellers Why do all black kids sit in the cafeteria?

(All in all, her answer to this question is: “Because it is comforting with those who share experience and common understanding. However, it is not always recognized that, especially in white institutions, students sitting in cafeterias are often students sitting in cafeterias, often students writing in campus newspapers or attending yearbooks or participating in athletic teams.”

Tatum returns to higher education in July 2022, serving as one year Holyoke Mountain College In South Hadley, Massachusetts. She recalled: “In that year, a lot of people asked me, ‘Why did you do that?’ “Isn’t that a terrible job? “This seems to be the toughest job in the United States. ”

“Of course, being a university president is very challenging, but in the questions people ask me, I can see the lack of understanding of universities, how they operate, and the benefits that leaders can do not only for institutions, but for the larger society.”

She decided to write an “Insider Guide to Higher Education” and the issues facing leaders. Danger and promise: University leaders during turbulent times It is part of the memoir and part of the action. It struggles to deal with multiple interlocking crises in higher education: falling enrollment rates and rising costs, debates around freedom of speech and anti-Semitism, union student workers and athletes.

Trump has turbocharged all of this, Trump shocked the U.S. foundation and placed university presidents in a firefight in the cultural war. In April, his administration said it would freeze more than $2.2 billion in grants and $60 million in contracts after the agency vowed to limit the requirement. Campus Actionism.

Earlier this month Anti-Semitism Peaceful Rights Action. It has also begun investigations into alleged anti-Semitism at numerous institutions, often associated with campus protests Israeli Gaza War.

More than 660 universities, universities and academic society owns the head office Signed a statement The actions condemned Trump were “an unprecedented governmental over-invasion.”

Tatum lamented the attack on education, science and knowledge itself. “If we look at the historical partnership between the federal government and research universities, the destruction of the historical partnership between the National Science Foundation and the NIH, it does illustrate something fundamental. [the National Institutes of Health] The grants are interrupted, even if they are about to be completed.

“If we see an attack on science as an attack on culture and science, then one must doubt how an attack on knowledge production matches making America great again. I can’t contact that point.”

Harvard, the most rebellious man, sued the government for cutting funding and bans on international students, arguing that these actions violate academic freedom. It is negotiating a potential $500 million settlement, but insisting on retaining its autonomy.

Universities including Columbia, Brown and Pennsylvania negotiated settlements and agreed to pay millions of dollars and make changes, such as banning masks during protests or modifying trans athlete policies to get funding. Some observers accused them of surrender.

Tatum commented: “It is important for institutions to stand up on their own. At the same time, in the role of president, it’s easy to see you should say you should do X, otherwise you should do X. Armchaire quarterback is a popular sport.

“But the alums of these institutions – if you consider Harvard, Columbia and the Ivy League graduates more broadly, they can form a large part of the leaders and decision makers in the United States.

Since the terrorist attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, there has been no greater flash point than anti-Semitism and Islamophobia on university campuses. Harvard in April Agree to review Its academic products and admissions policies are internal reports targeting a pair of anti-Semitism and anti-Arab biases.

Tatum said: “It is important to point out that some Jewish students oppose what is happening in Palestine. Some of the protests in Colombia are led by Jewish students, so this is a bit false statement about what is happening on campus to talk about this being an anti-Semitism situation.

“Obviously there are a lot of hostile behaviors to Jewish students – and it is true – their hostility is targeted at Muslim students.”

Republicans accuse university leaders of allowing anti-Semitism without restrictions. The activists say they are trying to suppress legitimate criticism of Israel. When asked if she thought Trump had already weaponized the problem, Tatum provided only a six-word answer: “To me, it looks like that.”

Tatum advocates gather students to participate in high Jewish holidays, such as holding a meal after Atonement Day to break the fast to confirm the presence of Jewish students on campus. “If you’ve been doing something like this, where the student feels recognized, you’ll see it, then you still may not agree with what’s going on in the Middle East, but it doesn’t necessarily constitute because you’re anti-Semitic, or the institution is anti-Semitic.”

for hbcusAt the same time, it is the best time and the worst time. When Trump targeted elite institutions such as Harvard and Columbia, the HBCU flew below radar and witnessed a surge in applications. But they face their own difficulties.

“As the society becomes more anti-Black in its expression, we see students seeking out HBCUs as communities where they will feel affirmed, included and not have to deal with a lot of unnecessary distractions that are rooted in their identity as Black students. As people are talking about eliminating historical references in museums, for example, all of that fuels interest on the part of Black students in HBCUs because they Know that’s a place where their history is not being erased.

“The challenge is that many applicants need financial aid, and HBCU does not have enough financial aid to meet the full needs of all these students. Even though it is aware that HBCU typically charges less than the main charges for white institutions, access is a challenge because of limited financial resources.”

The second chapter of this book is titled: Who is afraid of dei? Why? Tatum pointed out that “opposition to racial progress” and “The rise of the white nationalist movement“A series of measures aimed at limiting discussions about social justice issues and demolishing DEI programs, threatening academic freedom and freedom of expression.

Tatum explains: “When we talk about dei, the diversity of the word resonates with many people in particular, it sounds like you’re talking about people of color, and if you’re white you feel you don’t exclude from the conversation.

“In an ideal world, we will understand diversity as much as everyone.”

Tatum added: “Confirmation of identity does not just confirm the identity of people on the edge; it can confirm everyone’s identity. When everyone feels seeing, hearing and understanding, everyone has a sense of belonging. This sense of belonging is a good predictor of whether you will feel like you will thrive in a specific institution.”

She sees the current counterattack against DEI and other forms of social progress as part of a historical model. Quote Martin Luther King’s 1967 book Where do we go from here: chaos or community?she emphasized his observation: “After every period of racial progress, there will be objections to this progress.”

Born in 1954 Brown v. Education Commission The decision to divide public schools, she witnessed “most of the progress” in 70 years. “I often say that to some extent, to cheer myself up, the level of response is the level of response progress.

“The climax of Barack Obama’s election was certainly in 2008, again in 2012, and seemed to be the driving force for voter suppression activities that took off in 2013 and because of preventing re-elections of such elections. But after all this, I do think that this model is two steps forward, step by step.