DeSantis laughs and applauds as Rufo speaks at a lectern reading “Florida: The Education State.”" width="" height="" />A brief history of the right’s long-running battle against higher education.
Feb 1, 2024, 12:30 PM UTCDeSantis laughs and applauds as Rufo speaks at a lectern reading “Florida: The Education State.”" width="" height="" />
DeSantis laughs and applauds as Rufo speaks at a lectern reading “Florida: The Education State.”" width="" height="" />
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis listens to activist and New College of Florida trustee Christopher Rufo before signing three education bills on the school’s campus in Sarasota, Florida, on May 15, 2023. Photo by Thomas Simonetti for the Washington Post via Getty Images
Fabiola Cineas covers race and policy as a reporter for Vox. Before that, she was an editor and writer at Philadelphia magazine, where she covered business, tech, and the local economy.
In the wake of the resignations of two university presidents; campaigns against diversity, equity, and inclusion programs; and a Supreme Court ruling ending affirmative action, conservatives are vowing that their crusade against higher education is far from over.
Conservative activist Christopher Rufo, who played a role in smearing critical race theory and in pushing out Harvard President Claudine Gay last month, told students at the University of Colorado Boulder recently that America must “lay siege to the institutions” to root out radical liberal policies that were established in the 1960s — an idea he’s been repeating for years. According to Rufo, those policies include diversity and inclusion initiatives that are bringing America down today.
At a time when colleges and universities are facing criticism from all sides over rising tuition costs and resulting student debt, decreasing enrollment, and admissions challenges, conservatives want to spearhead the changes that lie ahead for the institutions. But the desire of Rufo and others to remake higher education in their conservative vision isn’t new.
According to historian Lauren Lassabe Shepherd, who is the author of Resistance from the Right: Conservatives and the Campus Wars in Modern America and casts a sometimes critical eye on the conservative assault on higher education, the playbook has existed for decades.
Lassabe Shepherd and I discussed the parallels between the current moment and the early 20th century, when conservatives first grew suspicious of colleges and universities. Our conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
What’s one word you would use to describe conservatives’ relationship with higher education today?
