On Jan. 27, the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued a memo halting all federal grants and loans indefinitely. Justified as a measure to halt funding for “foreign aid, nongovernmental organizations, DEI, woke gender ideology, and the green new deal,” the Trump administration’s order threatened wide-ranging consequences, including for universities like Princeton. From research to financial aid, a shocking number of University programs and operations might lose access to the $456 million in federal grants Princeton receives each year. Although the memo was later rescinded after being blocked by a judge, significant uncertainty remains surrounding the funding.
But Trump has been threatening not just unilateral budget impoundment, but also attacks on the university accreditation system, a broad endowment tax, and an assault on diversity programs since at least 2023. So Princeton mustn’t be surprised.
What is surprising — or, rather, frightening — is the University’s silence on the funding issue and other threats posed by the Trump administration. The Jan. 28 email to the community from University President Christopher Eisgruber ’83 was laced with unspecificity, indicating that the University has either accepted various executive orders with no real resistance or is scrambling behind the scenes to combat them, instead of having a plan in place for threats we’ve been aware of for more than a year.
This adds up to a concerning and unjustifiable pattern of silence the University has exhibited since the 2024 election. Instead of fighting for its faculty researchers and undocumented, low-income, or minority students under its policy of institutional restraint, it has engaged in a dangerous form of institutional reticence. And that new habit must end in order for the University to survive.
In the aftermath of the 2016 presidential election, Eisgruber and hundreds of other university presidents signed a statement supporting Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and undocumented students threatened by Trump’s deportation policies. In addition to that, Eisgruber issued dozens of political statements during the first Trump administration, mostly related to immigration.
In contrast, Eisgruber now promises that “while I have issued statements only rarely in the past, I expect that I will do so even less frequently in the future.” At a time when a strong and unrelenting defense of our universities is more necessary than ever, Eisgruber is ceding his platform at the helm of one of the most powerful.
Today, Eisgruber’s (and other university presidents’) lack of action on protecting undocumented students, research freedom, financial aid, and more, seems to come from a well-intentioned but faulty attempt to keep a target off the back of the University. If Princeton avoids attracting the ire of Trump and his allies, the common wisdom goes that perhaps we can escape unscathed.
But universities have already provoked the wrath of Trump over issues such as diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, international student protesters, and the “radical left,” ideologies which he claims these institutions promote. We are, to put it simply, already under fire. The metaphorical target cannot be on our metaphorical back any more than it already is. And our silence does not bring us refuge; it will bring about our downfall.
So if I could say anything to the University about this, here is what it would be: When there is a target on your back, you do not stand still and wait for the arrow to strike. You put on a bulletproof vest, hunker down into a foxhole, and fire back. This moment is existential for Princeton: More than 20 percent of our total revenue is at stake, and the academic freedom we seek to uphold is in jeopardy. Now is the time to fire back.
To President Eisgruber and the Board of Trustees: The Princeton community is depending on you to protect our institution during this volatile time. You must not roll over, and you must not give in. Princeton must defend the important role of universities and the funding we receive from the government that makes our work possible.
But statements are not enough. For the continued existence of the University, we require bold and immediate action. The Trustees and the Princeton University Investment Company (PRINCO) must begin moving to find ways to liquidate enough of the endowment to support Princeton research and financial aid programs in case we permanently lose access to federal grants. We ought to lead and join federal court filings seeking injunctions against programs that aim to curtail University operations.
We must also vocally oppose a potential large endowment tax, should it be proposed later this year (and President Eisgruber’s statements in this regard are a good start, at least). My colleagues have made good-faith arguments for smaller or statewide endowment taxes, but the damage that even these might do may be irreparable in an era when the federal government is weaponized against us.
As the university with the highest endowment per capita, we have an unparalleled ability to accomplish all of this and more. To protect Princeton — and our status as a bastion of academic freedom, meaningful research, and affordable world-class education — it is time not for silence, but for action.
It is the restriction of intellectual freedom — of ideas — that often represents a first step toward tyranny. Today, we are in the crosshairs of the president and at the crossroads of fascism and democracy. Our pursuit of knowledge, our democracy, and our fundamental freedoms all depend on our continued existence on the right path of history. Princeton must exist — boldly, defiantly, and loudly. The target is already on our back. Will we escape unscathed, or will we be amongst the first casualties in a war on democracy itself? Fortunately, that is mostly up to us.
Isaac Barsoum is a first-year intended Politics major from Charlotte, N.C. He believes that loving Princeton means finding ways it can become a safer, happier, more inclusive place. His column, “A Princeton for All,” runs every other Thursday. You can read his column here. You can reach him at itbarsoum[at]princeton.edu.
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