Presidential Opinion

Patricia McGuire, President, Trinity Washington University writes: College presidents, quick to issue lofty statements decrying the assault on our beloved democracy, must participate in the investigation, taking up a particularly painful question: How did so many of our graduates go so wrong? Higher education must own some responsibility for the moral failures that established the conditions that led to the January 6 insurrection.

Michael S. Roth, President, Wesleyan University writes: “Idiot wind, blowing like a circle around my skull, from the Grand Coulee Dam to the Capitol.” The words of the Bob Dylan song echo in my mind as I watch rioters marauding in Washington, D.C., playing make-believe politics in their cloud cuckoo world of conspiracies and fantasies. “You’re an idiot, babe, it’s a wonder that you still know how to breathe.”

Thomas J. Botzman, President, University of Mount Union writes: The year 2020 has been a very challenging and confusing one for many of us, including undergraduate students working toward a college degree. Some of the difficulties facing students, such as socially-distanced classrooms and listening to lectures given by an instructor wearing a mask, are likely to pass as we move toward resolving the pandemic. 

Marcheta P. Evans, President, Bloomfield College writes: Upward mobility is a promise that many students and their families count on when sending their students to college. As part of the process of social mobility in America is the expectation that earning a college degree will be the foundation on which the next generation will be better off economically as compared to the prior generation. This promise for upward mobility is deeply rooted in the American psyche, and especially for first-generation college students and families of color who represent historically underserved populations in higher education.

Miguel Martinez-Saenz, President, St. Francis College in Brooklyn writes: Promoting social mobility and equal access to opportunities must center on underserved and low-income students. This starts with doubling the Pell Grant, which Biden’s plan includes, rather than a blanket “free college” policy for public institutions. Our democracy requires it.