In the past, having a college degree from a respected institution was a mark of distinction.
It meant that you were highly trained, highly skilled and prepared to become a productive member of society.
While we have known for quite some time that the purpose of academia has radically changed, the facade crumbled after Oct. 7, when many colleges finally revealed what was festering in their classrooms.
Swarms of students and faculty members alike emerged from behind the ivy-covered walls and took to the streets in support of the indiscriminate slaughter of Israeli civilians by Islamic terrorists.
The Biden administration’s response included meetings with Jewish organizations and plans to partner with campus law enforcement. (In a stunning failure to read the room, the White House this week also announced a “national strategy” to combat Islamophobia.)
As usual, former President Donald Trump has an outside-the-box solution.
In a Wednesday post on Truth Social, Trump noted that “in recent weeks, Americans have been horrified to see students and faculty at Harvard and other once-respected universities expressing support for the savages and jihadists who attacked Israel.”
“We spend more money on higher education than any other country — and yet, they’re turning our students into Communists and terrorist sympathizers,” Trump wrote.
“It’s time to offer something dramatically different.”
Under Trump’s plan, the government will take the “billions and billions of dollars that we will collect by taxing, fining and suing excessively large private university endowments” and use that money to fund a new university — the American Academy.
According to Trump, the mission of the American Academy will be “to make a truly world-class education available to every American — free of charge.”
If The Western Journal launched a digital magazine, would you read it?
Yes: 42% (55 Votes)
No: 58% (75 Votes)
Trump said the new institution will not add “a single dime” to the national debt and will provide top-tier educational content online, including lectures, study groups, mentors and industry partnerships.
The former president explained that the American Academy will grant students the equivalent of a bachelor’s degree that “the U.S. government and all federal contractors will henceforth recognize.”
“It will be strictly non-political and there will be no wokeness or jihadism allowed,” Trump said. “This will be a revolution in higher education and will provide life-changing opportunities for tens of millions of our citizens.”
While some will no doubt quibble over the details of the plan, it cannot be denied that this is exactly how Trump broke into politics — by promising to actually do something about the problems plaguing our nation.
In a Thursday opinion piece for The Washington Times, Ryan Walters, Oklahoma’s superintendent of public instruction, explained why he chose to endorse Trump for president in 2024.
Walters listed what Trump has already done in the realm of education, from banning critical race theory in the classroom to expanding school choice and protecting the First Amendment right of students to pray in school.
“President Trump is the right man for the job, and I am confident that he will deliver on his education promises in 2024 and beyond,” Walters wrote.
One social media user said what many others are thinking: “Why do we support Trump? It’s because he is the only one with fresh ideas. Nobody would have been discussing a border wall in 2016 if it weren’t for Trump.”
No other candidate on the republican side brings new ideas to the table like this.
Why do we support Trump?
It’s because he is the only one with fresh ideas.
Nobody would have been discussing a border wall in 2016 if it weren’t for Trump.
— 4NinetyFour (@4NinetyFour) November 2, 2023
The digital age may just call for digital solutions.
Online education has always been considered inferior to in-person college, but that may be starting to change, as many students finished their degrees online during the COVID-19 lockdowns when there was no other choice.
The American Academy would also keep students out of the grasp of far-left faculty and their radical agendas.
Whether or not Trump’s vision comes to pass, it’s good to know that there are still some leaders who are willing to challenge the status quo.
