{"id":1447,"date":"2025-04-22T12:01:47","date_gmt":"2025-04-22T12:01:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/entouragecover.com\/?p=1447"},"modified":"2025-04-28T14:41:35","modified_gmt":"2025-04-28T14:41:35","slug":"over-100-nyu-law-faculty-condemn-trump-attack-on-higher-ed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/entouragecover.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/22\/over-100-nyu-law-faculty-condemn-trump-attack-on-higher-ed\/","title":{"rendered":"Over 100 NYU Law faculty condemn Trump attack on higher ed"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The majority of full-time faculty at the School of Law, including former NYU President John Sexton, signed onto a letter slamming the Trump administration\u2019s executive crackdown on U.S. colleges and affirming the faculty\u2019s support for academic freedom.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In the letter, sent to the NYU Law community on April 17 and obtained by WSN, 112 professors condemned the federal government\u2019s targeting of universities \u201cin ways that undermine academic independence and the free exchange of ideas.\u201d They argued that President Donald Trump\u2019s <\/span>threats to impeach judges<\/span><\/a> and <\/span>requirements for lawyers<\/span><\/a> to \u201cacquiesce to improper demands\u201d unconstitutionally undermine democracy, freedom of expression and basic due process.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIf such actions continue, the damage to our intellectual communities, which depend on the lawful freedom of expression and open exchange of ideas, could be immense,\u201d the letter read. \u201cSo too would be the danger to basic due process values that protect each and every one of us.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Among the letter\u2019s signatories, 76 are full-time faculty members at NYU Law. Troy McKenzie, dean and professor at NYU Law \u2014 who was not among the signatories \u2014 said in a statement to WSN that while the school\u2019s faculty represents a \u201cwide diversity of viewpoints,\u201d they are \u201cobviously united in their deep concern for the future of higher education and our democracy.\u201d Sexton, who stepped down as head of the university in 2015, did not respond to requests for comment.<\/span><\/p>\n

Richard Epstein, a professor at the law school and avid public debater, said he has \u201cnever seen anybody who poses a greater threat to America\u2019s political, legal and social institutions than Donald Trump.\u201d Epstein called Trump a bully, said his economics are primitive and criticized him for not taking \u201cany responsibility for anything.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m told that some of my students were rather surprised that I signed the letter, because I’m probably the quote-unquote most conservative member of the NYU faculty, at least one who participates in public debates,\u201d Epstein said in an interview with WSN.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Epstein, a leading writer on libertarian law and staunch opponent of birthright citizenship, has spent years advocating for a smaller government. However, he has recently emerged as an avid critic of Trump\u2019s executive actions\u00a0 \u2014 <\/span>including the firing<\/span><\/a> of nearly all U.S. Agency for International Development employees and issuance of <\/span>unprecedentedly high tariffs<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The letter comes as Harvard University <\/span>engages in a legal battle<\/span><\/a> with the White House after rejecting demands to limit student protests and dismantle diversity, equity and inclusion programs. In response, the Trump administration cut over $3 billion in federal grants and contracts for health research from Harvard over the past week. In March, Columbia University \u2014 after losing more than $400 million in federal funding \u2014 <\/span>submitted to most<\/span><\/a> of the federal government\u2019s demands, including banning masks on campus, hiring \u201cspecial officers\u201d to remove and detain individuals on campus and the regulating departments related to Middle Eastern, South Asian and African studies.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The statement did not address NYU\u2019s silence on Trump\u2019s crusade against higher education and\u00a0<\/span>threats to withdraw federal funding from research institutions and universities. Over the last few months, \u201csome members\u201d of the community <\/span>have had their visas revoked<\/span><\/a>, NYU Langone Health <\/span>canceled gender-affirming care appointments<\/span><\/a> for minors and President Linda Mills <\/span>enacted an administrative hiring freeze<\/span><\/a>. NYU has been under fire by the Trump administration for its response to complaints <\/span>alleging antisemitic harassment<\/span><\/a> on campus, and <\/span>was named among 52 schools<\/span><\/a> to be investigated for DEI initiatives.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Contact Yezen Saadah at ysaadah@nyunews.com.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

This story Over 100 NYU Law faculty condemn Trump attack on higher ed<\/a> appeared first on Washington Square News<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The majority of full-time faculty at the School of Law, including former NYU President John Sexton, signed onto a letter slamming the Trump administration\u2019s executive crackdown on U.S. colleges and affirming the faculty\u2019s support for academic freedom.\u00a0 In the letter, sent to the NYU Law community on April 17 and obtained by WSN, 112 professors […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1449,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[11],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/entouragecover.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1447"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/entouragecover.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/entouragecover.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/entouragecover.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/entouragecover.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1447"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/entouragecover.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1447\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1450,"href":"http:\/\/entouragecover.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1447\/revisions\/1450"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/entouragecover.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1449"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/entouragecover.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1447"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/entouragecover.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1447"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/entouragecover.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1447"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}