Recently, tensions between college administrations and the Trump administrations have been at an all time high. Tensions that were exacerbated when the Trump administration threatened to stop all federal grant funding to Harvard University.
Freezing these funds would take away billions of dollars from the high-ranked Ivy League college’s research in disease. Other similar cuts to federal funding have been made at other high-ranked universities’ research projects primarily focusing on disease research as well. All of these actions led to Harvard suing the Trump administration due to all the cuts and defunding of research.
Drew needs to continue to be more active in opposing the Trump administration. Ever since all this discourse happened, over 300 universities have taken the step to go against any government intrusion on their universities or colleges. Drew University is one of these institutions who has had their president sign a letter opposing any government interference. Looking at this list, you can see that Drew University’s President Hilary L. Link signed her name for Drew. Link also signed a call for constructive engagement at colleges and universities around the country. All of this is a great step in the right direction to Drew staying active in opposing what the current president’s administration is doing to universities and colleges.
Colleges and universities have had a long-standing history of producing groundbreaking research in several fields, primarily in the medical and technological innovations field. Schools such as Columbia University Irving Medical Center and New York University have made headway in climate and health and using DNA as building blocks for biological functions. These research projects have helped so many people at the institution and even worldwide. Defunding research such as these would have a negative global impact in several ways.
Many students are personally outraged by the interference as well. “Brazen slashes to vital programs like these do not just impact academia. These cuts are stopping cancer research in its tracks, undoing years and years of progress (both social and scientific) and most telling of all: crippling American education. I am relieved to see Drew and our community standing up so strongly for its freedoms, as it is undeniably clear that the current administration’s reckless actions are deliberately designed to poison the wells of our schools with dangerously authoritarian tactics,” said Sabr Keres-Siddiqui (‘27).
It is clear that Drew University is not letting the Trump Administration halt any research that is being done at their institution no matter what it is. This is especially reassuring to hear since the Drew Summer Science Institute will be starting up soon on June 2. Drew Summer Science Institute allows Drew students to work with faculty mentors on a research project full-time over the summer term. The projects these students work on are groundbreaking and inspire other students to take part in the program. If other programs such as these get defunded, it would be a huge blow to student morale and to the college and university research community as a whole. Drew must remain active against the Trump administration so that programs such as DSSI and other research projects can continue to thrive.
The Lead Editorial is a reflection of the collective opinion of the editorial board.
