Newsom strives to “do the right thing” for academic freedom and resists Trump’s campus compact

On Friday, the Governor’s News Agency further involved a controversy surrounding Trump, a compact president of higher education, has raised campus leadership to nine universities, including the University of Southern California, to “do the right thing” and reject the proposal.

The covenant sent to USC and other campuses across the country on Wednesday, and his demand for right-to-campus policy shocked higher education in exchange for priority federal funding.

Newsom returned to Trump’s proposal Thursday and threatened to cut “billions of dollars” of state funding to any agreed University of California.

Newsom made a sensation Friday when signing a bill at the University of California, Berkeley, escalated its bets amid the high-pressure decision faced by the USC.

“Do the right thing,” he said. “What does the system mean? What does the university mean? If we don’t have academic freedom, then what does all of this mean? …It’s not an option, and I feel the fact that I even need to send that information is shocking because some people think it’s what.”

Newsom laughed at the USC (a private agency that even had to make a statement about Trump) as a “wrong choice.”

Compact conservative goals

The White House offers prestigious universities to the University of Southern California and a small group of prestigious universities, including the University of Arizona, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of Texas and Brown University – calling for Trump’s view on areas such as admissions, diversity, and freedom of speech on campus. In exchange, among other benefits, they will also receive more favorable access to federal research grants and additional funding.

Universities must also accept the government’s definition of gender and do not allow the recognition of transgender people’s gender identity. Enrollment rates for foreign students will be limited. Regarding freedom of speech, schools will have to work to promote a variety of perspectives on campus and to change or abolish “institutional units that purposefully punish, derogate and even trigger violence against conservative thought”, which is the contract.

In a campus letter Friday, USC interim president Beong-soo Kim said the White House provided “a lot of issues that I think are important for research and discussion.”

“I have heard from several members of the community that over the next few weeks, I will consult with the board; the dean and leadership team; members of the Academic Senate, the Academic Freedom Working Group, the Presidential Faculty Advisory Committee, and other stakeholder groups to hear their broad view.” “These conversations may take time, but they are essential to building trust and community.”

He said it was his responsibility to “promote the U.S. mission and uphold our core values.”

Newsom said at the Berkeley event that USC is one of California’s “great universities” and that during Trump’s presidency, the campus faces an uncertain and difficult future that “all together.”

A day ago, the governor threatened to reject the state’s largest financial aid program, signing Trump’s deal to California’s public and private universities. Grants are awarded based on income, and students apply for student eligibility through free application for federal student aid or California Dream Act.

In 2024-25, $2.5 billion in CAL grants were phased out. During the school year, USC received a CAL grant worth approximately $28 million.

UC negotiations are underway

To answer questions about the proposal to the USC and whether Newsom will issue the same threat to cancel state funding to the UCLA (the subject of ongoing negotiations on the massive U.S. Department of Justice’s anti-Semitism investigation) – the governor said he was “not worried” about the UC system.

“I don’t worry about their ability to organize a thoughtful and deliberate strategy that maintains our values ​​… without resorting to the kind of concern I have about the kind of expression listed by the university in question,” Newsom said.

As UCLA continues to negotiate with the Trump administration, Newsom said he is confident in the university system and its leaders “cooperate for weeks” to reach a solution.

The governor’s more grumpy remarks changed with his comments in August and September when he said that UC should “prosecut” Trump and should not “bend his knees” as he believed Brown and Columbia’s deal with the White House was a bad move, which gave the administration the ability to target more campuses.

“Governor’s News, [UC] president [James B.] “Milliken and the board are fully aligned in protecting the values, integrity and unparalleled quality of the University of California system,” UC Regent Committee Chairman Janet Reilly said in a statement in the Times after a comment from Newsom on Friday.

Milliken said in a letter Friday that Trump’s compactness is also the subject of negotiations among system leaders.

“Just over the past few days, the government has announced a plan that imposes numerous new requirements on universities seeking federal funding and we will discuss it with faculty leadership as soon as possible,” Millican said.

Trump’s proposal has not been sent to UC. A White House official said the initial campus on the list is the first group where more universities may get the clause.

The Trump administration demanded a fine of nearly $1.2 billion on schools after the Justice Department discovered in July that the UCLA violated the rights of Jewish students in response to the pro-Palestinian demonstrations in spring 2024. The government is also seeking changes to admissions, foreign student admissions, diversity programs, and other Republican priorities in higher education.

While praising the UC for handling federal negotiations, Newsom is less supportive of the recent actions taken by UC Berkeley to release personal information from 160 employees to the Department of Education as part of a so-called anti-Semitism investigation on campus.

UC officials said they worked to protect employee privacy and were asked to share information with the department because it enforces civil rights laws on campus. Teachers criticized the move, and some compared it to the unopposed speech practice of McCarthy’s era.

Newsom said he “requests for independent review of data releases” in order to “be sure whether it is appropriate, whether it is consistent with past practices, or whether it should be adjusted according to policy.”

USC “between rocks and hard places”

Rick Hess, an education analyst at the American Enterprise Academy, a conservative think tank, said Newsom’s speech “seems inappropriate.”

“If a [Kamala] The Harris administration has tried something like this, and I think the Republican governor will be equally excited. “Hess, director of educational policy research at the institute.

“University of Southern California is located between rocks and tough places,” Hess added. “What does it mean if they refuse? What does it mean to not prioritize federal research funding? It means that the faucet will be shut down? On the other hand, once you sign up… the government’s commitment to comply with the question will follow part of the question? It’s part of the question, and it’s not entirely clear what it means, what it means, what it means.”

Newsom blew up institutions that had already “sold out” by signing Trump’s contract. The University of Texas recommends it can agree to the terms. According to a statement by board chairman Kevin Eltife, the leaders of the Texas institutional system were “honest” to be selected as part of the contract and its “potential financial advantage.”

“In this state, our mindset has to stick to it,” Newsom said. “I’m not going to put pressure on people. I need to put pressure on this moment and stress tests, not just California’s history. So forgive me for being so firm. That’s it. We’re losing this country.”