Five growing threats to academic freedom

Partisan political operatives, such as the Manhattan Institute’s Christopher Rufo (above right), have mainstreamed the claims that faculty regularly engage in political indoctrination and that professors teach content that is divisive and anti-American. For example, days after Hamas’ invasion of Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, Rufo posted on X that conservatives should “create a strong association” between Hamas, Black Lives Matter, the Democratic Socialists of America and “academic ‘decolonization.’” These narratives are designed to justify and legitimize the ongoing attacks on academic freedom. The implication is that faculty are the enemy and that legislatures, governors and governing boards can save higher education.