Francis Wilkinson, Columnist

Universities Are Not Meeting This Moment

College presidents have grown quiet in the face of government attacks on free speech and academic independence.

March 23, 2025 at 12:00 PM UTC

Francis Wilkinson is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering US politics and policy. Previously, he was executive editor for the Week and a writer for Rolling Stone.

Just the beginning?
Photographer: Robert Nickelsberg/Getty Images

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The headlines at the Chronicle of Higher Education, the trade news for academia, read like dispatches from the front:

“‘We’re in the Midst of an Authoritarian Takeover’”