American universities were once destinations for intellectual enrichment but have devolved into activist factories. Yet those with endowments surpassing the GDPs of small countries will survive the negative press, students will continue enrolling to obtain a snazzy résumé line, and academics will still publish nonsensical ideas that are eventually embraced by mainstream outlets. Since the universities seem destined to endure, how do we fix them?
Recourse to the law is one approach. Nonprofits like the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression fight against free-speech violations, while firms such as the Alliance Defending Freedom have sued schools over interpretations of Title IX that enabled males to participate in women’s sports. The Department of Justice is dragging universities to court, particularly for violating antidiscrimination laws.
But coercing an institution to abandon its firm commitments to the progressive agenda will require more than a judge’s order. The Supreme Court ruled unambiguously in 2023 that affirmative action is illegal, yet the demographic composition of incoming classes at colleges across the country has not drastically changed since, which suggests that admissions offices still racially discriminate. More troubling, legal pressure risks further entrenching illiberalism on campus rather than eradicating it. Instead of paring back bias trainings and restrictions on speech, it could merely extend them in ways the militant activist left generally opposes — applying them, for example, to combat antisemitism.