By Robert E. Rubin
Writing in The Atlantic, Robert Rubin argues that America's higher education system faces an existential threat—not just from campus protests over Gaza and Israel, but from a coordinated assault on academic freedom itself. Rubin warns that while we focus on images of universities in turmoil, we're missing a bigger danger: the systematic undermining of institutions that have been central to American strength for decades.
What's really at stake? Rubin points out that while the U.S. has less than 5% of the world's population, it hosts 65% of the top 20 universities globally. These institutions don't just educate—they drive economic growth, maintain America's geopolitical edge, and create the kind of informed citizenry democracy requires. Rubin’s stark conclusion: "We can have the world's greatest higher-education system, or we can have colleges where open exchange is undermined by pressure campaigns. We can't have both."