Congratulations! The beginning of your time at NYU is flush with opportunity. You’re met with hundreds of names to learn, countless streets to explore and an intoxicating sense of independence. That euphoria inevitably comes with doubts — maybe you’ve yet to click with your roommate, or can never find your NYU ID (guilty). You might also feel overwhelmed in the city or still unsure of your major (also guilty).

But the past year has inaugurated a different type of uncertainty, as questions about the tumultuous politics of education claw their way into university communities. In a whiplash-ridden saga of lawsuits, threats and coercion, Washington has collapsed the pillars of academic freedom. It has starved the Education Department, haphazardly dismantling programs in the name of efficiency. 

It’s easy, and in many ways, reasonable, to dissociate the news cycle from your own experience, especially at NYU. As a private university with a $6.7 billion endowment and $10.5 billion annual revenue, NYU is the second largest landlord in New York City and has invested more than $17.6 billion in buildings alone. It receives just around $1.4 billion from the U.S. government annually, most of which is for research and student loans.

But even the most powerful universities are heeling to Washington’s litany of demands. Some states have passed laws forcing colleges to scrap degrees with low enrollment rates, and dozens of schools have axed their diversity programming. Threats to international students alone could devastate the global network that NYU loves to flaunt — so immunity to federal pressure? It was never an option. 

• Research is the university’s most vulnerable sector, with over half of NYU’s $1.5 billion in spending covered by federal funds. In February, an executive pause on federal spending terminated at least two NYU research grants, with administrators warning that “likely” more would come. While the order was short-lived, NYU still has a hotline for research concerns.

• NYU enacted an ongoing hiring freeze in March shortly after it was named one of 10 colleges to be investigated for antisemitism and one of 52 colleges probed for diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. Financial caution also hit the upcoming year’s budget, which was released in June and reflected a 3% decrease in spending for the first time in years. 

• On-campus tension escalated in April after administrators revealed that “some members” of the NYU community were affected by mass student visa revocations. While students’ immigration statuses have since been restored, screening requirements for international students continue to increase.

• In July, an NYU Law program that promotes climate legislation in Attorney Generals’ offices across 10 states is facing scrutiny from Congress. Investigations started when Republican Oversight chairman James Comer said the program “undermines faith” in the legal system by predominantly working in Democratic states.

These trends reinforce a pervasive need to protect higher education. It is more important than ever to approach academia with drive, passion and curiosity: Universities teach critical thinking, intellectual flexibility and a willingness to question the status quo. They create community members who can recognize systemic faults. 

So make the most of the next four years. Strike up conversations with your professors, join new organizations and ask every question. By attending a school in the heart of New York City, you are immersed in a cultural metropolis of ethnic diversity, a rich arts scene and a vigorous economy for innovation. Your time at NYU will sculpt you as a person just as much as it will prepare you for a career, so take advantage of it.