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We have always known who this guy is. In 2005, President Donald Trump was caught on tape bragging about sexually assaulting women, saying, “And when you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything.” Last weekend, he posted on X: “He who saves his country does not violate any law,” echoing Rod Steiger’s portrayal of Napoleon Bonaparte in the 1970 film “Waterloo.” Translation: I am preparing to ignore court orders, throw the country into a full-blown constitutional crisis, and begin a fascist takeover of the U.S. government. Whether it’s violating women or desecrating our political institutions for personal gain, Trump’s guiding philosophy remains the same — power justifies everything.
None of this is hyperbole. We see it unfolding before our eyes. In his inaugural speech, Trump declared, “The golden age of America begins right now.” He’s correct, but only for the wealthy and powerful; for everyone else, it’s a gilded age. Within days of returning to power, he has launched a blitzkrieg of executive orders targeting the most vulnerable — international students, transgender kids and so many others who have done nothing but exist. Trump is following Steve Bannon’s “flood the zone” strategy — overloading the public with an onslaught of executive orders to weaken resistance and consolidate power. But this is all a distraction from the real crises we face.
The problem isn’t trans kids playing sports — it’s billionaires hoarding obscene amounts of wealth. In other words, we are focused on the wrong one percent. We should be asking why the wealthiest one percent control more resources than entire nations, while ordinary people are forced to choose between paying rent and putting food on the table. Where is the plan to make the United States affordable to live in? Just like Trump’s plan to replace the Affordable Care Act, it will never exist.
The Trump administration, Elon Musk and their right-wing billionaire brigade are waging a war on our civil rights and freedoms. These are extraordinary times, the likes of which we have never experienced. No matter where you live — in a red or blue state — no corner of America will remain untouched by their assault. And as students at NYU, we cannot be on the sidelines. We must be at the center of this fight.
NYU is a target precisely because of its international student body, research funding and commitment to diversity. If our leaders comply, they will legitimize this fascist agenda. NYU cannot afford to be a bystander at this moment. The university must take concrete action to protect its students — especially its immigrant and international communities — and confront the attacks threatening our core values.
First, we cannot remain silent or accept the federal government’s exploitation of trans children as political pawns to distract from its failure to lower the cost of living. Trump’s latest executive orders escalate the war on the trans community, including bans on gender-affirming care and attacks on trans athletes. In a disturbing turn of events, NYU Langone Health, a cornerstone of public health in New York City, bent the knee to bigotry. A hospital renowned as a leader in LGBTQ+ health care should be ashamed of complying with Trump’s attack on innocent children. Its decision to deny health care to trans youth is indefensible, and its prolonged silence speaks volumes about its complicity. While New York Attorney General Letitia James has put hospitals on notice and vowed to protect trans kids, we need NYU Langone to stand with other hospitals challenging this order and keep providing lifesaving care.
Second, NYU simply pledged to “comply with the law” in response to Trump’s order to deport international students exercising their First Amendment rights. President Linda Mills’ reassurance about upholding community values rings hollow when the university has taken no concrete steps to back it up aside from offering counseling services and promoting the “How We Engage Toolkit.”
Third, Trump’s directives threatening to cut funding for diversity, equity and inclusion programs sow immense uncertainty about how this will affect NYU. While the university states it will continue to uphold its values, we desperately need specificity. How will NYU ensure we remain a beacon of diversity, a bastion of equity and a bulwark for inclusion? With the Trump administration ready to rip federal funding if NYU keeps race-based scholarships and hiring programs, countless students deserve answers — now.
The attacks against DEI are nothing more than fearmongering, pushing the false narrative that providing opportunities to historically disadvantaged groups somehow strips rights away from white Americans. This couldn’t be further from the truth. After the Supreme Court banned affirmative action in 2023, the consequences were immediate — NYU’s class of 2028 saw a drastic decline in Black and Latino enrollment. Black student enrollment dropped from 7% to 4%, and Latino enrollment from 15% to 10%. But this isn’t just about Trump’s war on DEI — it’s part of a larger assault on education, civil rights and democracy itself.
Trump and Musk want us to be overwhelmed and exhausted, and they hope we’ll walk away from this fight. But we are not powerless. Higher education institutions have historically led social change, and NYU must rise to that challenge. The threat to NYU is real — research funding is at risk, with nearly $800 million on the line. And who’s behind these attacks? An unelected billionaire and his teenage lackeys, including a 19-year-old high school student who calls himself “Big Balls.” You just can’t make this stuff up. But let’s get serious. These are weak men who derive power from preying on the vulnerable. Hope alone is not a strategy; we cannot adopt a wait-and-see approach. Universities across the country are under attack, and at NYU, we have a choice: stand by or stand up.
WSN’s Opinion section strives to publish ideas worth discussing. The views presented in the Opinion section are solely the views of the writer.
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