It's called the "Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education." It is anything but. It asks the schools who received Wednesday's letter to give up their academic freedom and adopt the right-wing partisan platform on education in exchange for preferred access to federal funding. Of course, the document points out (as it must) that "institutions of higher education are free to develop models and values other than those" in the memo, if the institution elects to forgo federal benefits. Up until now, the administration has used the stick — denying federal funds to those universities that refuse his unconstitutional demands — to enforce its efforts to take over education. Now it's offering a carrot — preferred access — instead. It doesn't matter. Trump is imposing unconstitutional conditions on the receipt of federal benefits. That the targeted universities will receive, according to the letter, "multiple positive benefits" including "substantial and meaningful federal grants" only magnifies the extortion.

The letters on Wednesday went to nine universities chosen, the White House said, because they had the potential to be "good actors." According to news reports, the letters went to Vanderbilt University, Dartmouth College, the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Southern California, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of Texas at Austin, the University of Arizona, Brown University and the University of Virginia. Presumably, more letters may be in the works. The White House is on a campaign that only the courts, and courageous universities, can stop.

The compact requires schools to ban the use of race or sex in hiring and admissions (the Supreme Court has already done that with race-based admissions); freeze tuition for five years; cap international undergrad enrollment at 15%; require applicants to take the SAT or ACT; and quell grade inflation. The demands comport with Trump's political views on gender identity, women's sports, transgender bathrooms and free speech.

The restrictions of international students are particularly troubling for a school like USC, where foreign students comprise some 26% of the incoming 2025 freshman class. Most of those students pay full tuition, which is critical to the school's budget. But I can say from experience — I taught at USC for 30 years, both law students and undergraduates — that the international students are critical to the character of the university as well as its fiscal health. But under the federal compact, international enrollment would be capped at 15% and no more than 5% can come from any one country; at USC, more than half the 26% come from China and India.

The compact's potential impact on free speech is especially troubling, as much of it focuses on the political climate on campus. Universities are required to ensure a "vibrant marketplace of ideas on campus" and to bar employees from expressing political views on behalf of their employer. But who decides that? And how? It requires colleges to make governance changes and abolish departments that "purposefully punish, belittle, and even spark violence against conservative ideas." According to whom? Ted Mitchell, the president of the American Council on Education, which represents more than 1,500 presidents of colleges and universities, asked the right question: "Who decides if the intellectual environment is vigorous and open-ended? This is not something the federal government should be involved in and adjudicating," he told reporters. "The implications for free speech are horrifying."

Gavin Newsom, California's governor, clearly agrees. USC, a private university, was the only California school on the list. Newsom on Thursday responded to the Trump demand by threatening to cut all state funding from any California college or university that signs on to the Trump compact. "If any California University signs this radical agreement, they'll lose billions in state funding — including Cal Grants — instantly. California will not bankroll schools that sell out their students, professors, researchers, and surrender academic freedom." Cal Grants are the state's largest financial aid program for students at public and private universities, doling out $2.5 billion annually. Newsom is not one to bring a butter knife to a knife fight. This is a knife fight, and it won't stop here.

To find out more about Susan Estrich and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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