Your school has a $22 billion endowment. You don’t need federal cash.
The University of Pennsylvania student paper is very upset the school agreed to Trump administration demands regarding men’s participation in women’s sports — so much so it says UPenn is “descending into fascism” (its headline).
The Daily Pennsylvanian Summer Opinion Editor Ingrid Holmquist and her summer-session cohorts say their editorial is not about the UPenn (women’s) swim team (and surrounding Lia Thomas controversy) nor “NCAA guidelines” or “biological sex characteristics.”
Except that … it really is.
“In allowing the federal government to make a decision that belongs to our community, Penn has violated our trust in a way that may be impossible to restore,” the editors write. “Our administration could have said no, fighting in court to keep the government out of our athletic policies.”
Furthermore, UPenn made a deal with an administration that has “proven hostile to human rights,” and this agreement “affirmed the belief” for the university that Trump’s actions were “logical [and] legal.”
“Throughout history, authoritarian regimes have begun their crackdowns with an attack on universities — beacons of dissent and social progress,” the editors continue. “We can’t ignore the warning signs. Penn’s actions are exactly what it looks like to give in to extortion disguised as governance.”
Hostile to human rights? The Ivy Leaguers’ proof: a link to the notoriously centrist (ha ha) Amnesty International which claims Trump is “targeting immigrants,” “attacking freedom of expression and the right to protest,” and “marginalizing Black and other racialized communities.”
Logical? Remember when the geniuses in the academy and media lectured us about believing in science? Apparently there’s nothing logical or scientific about not wanting men to compete against women in sports.
MORE: UPenn faculty unhappy with agreement to ban men from women’s sports
Legal? Wait, it’s illegal to keep federal monies from entities which do not want to comply with federal desires? Ask states that had drinking ages under 21 how that worked out for them.
UPenn’s agreement with the Trump administration got it back $175 million. You know what the school’s endowment is worth? Over $22 billion. This means UPenn saved a whopping 0.8 percent of its endowment by conceding to Trump.
If it really needs to be pointed out, UPenn can give a middle finger to President Trump by forgoing all federal monies. This is precisely what Hillsdale College does to “maintain its institutional independence.”
Twenty-two billion is a helluva lot of money, UPenn. Just throw back that $175 mill (and more), and you’ll be free to not only let Lia Thomas and other men compete against women, but from the shackles of … FASCISM!
MORE: ‘Around Lia, I wasn’t going to risk anything’: UPenn swimmer breaks silence
IMAGE CAPTION & CREDIT: A woman screams in anger/frustration; DarkBird/Shutterstock.com. INTERIOR IMAGE: Ingrid Holmquist/Linkedin