Words of Encouragement From Friends at FIRE
Alumni are indispensable stakeholders in the fight to save higher education
Fighting to save American higher education would feel a lot lonelier, and even more daunting, if the Alumni Free Speech Alliance didn’t have highly motivated and skilled allies working toward the same ends. “Many hands make light work,” as the adage goes — or at least lighter work — and that’s undoubtedly true for this movement.
One of ASFA’s most valued allies is The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, otherwise known as FIRE. It “covers the waterfront” on campus free speech issues, by publishing annual college free speech rankings, coming to the aid of besieged academics, and going to court, when necessary, to combat policies and practices that undermine academic freedom and First Amendment rights on campus.
FIRE also understands the critical role engaged alumni can play in turning things around at their alma maters, judging from the call to action published this week on FIRE’s website, which we’ll share (in excerpted form) below.
Alumni Outreach Program Manager Bobby Ramkissoon, who penned the piece, delivers one heck of a pep talk. He understands the frustration and futility many alumni feel when they see their alma maters morphing into something unrecognizable, by abandoning the core values that made them such great institutions of higher learning. But he cautions against the impulse to give up and walk away.
So what do you do when your alma mater falters? Walk away? Throw up your hands and declare, “Not my problem anymore?”
No. Severing ties is tempting — but it’s also the easy way out. Family — whether biological or metaphorical — comes with obligations. When your parents falter, you don’t abandon them. You step up.
Alumni must do the same. You’ve seen the good, the bad, and the in-between. You’re in the perfect position to hold your alma mater accountable — not as outsiders throwing stones, but as invested stakeholders.
Ramkissoon offers a three-point game plan for alumni who want to step off the sidelines and get involved, which boils down to organize, engage, and give.
One: Organize. This doesn’t mean gathering on homecoming weekend to sip overpriced chardonnay under a rented tent while nodding dutifully along to speeches about “innovations in higher education” (translation: “a new rock climbing wall”).
Instead, form a coalition of like-minded alumni who feel the soul-itching dread of watching their alma mater slide into intellectual oblivion. Take inspiration from the growing corps of alumni groups like the MIT Free Speech Alliance, or the Harvard Free Speech Alliance, who refuse to sit idly by — they channel their shared discontent, strategize, and take decisive action.
Granted, building an alumni free speech alliance may require dusting off your old Rolodex or reaching out to former classmates turned LinkedIn “connections,” but FIRE’s Alumni Network is here to help fill in the gaps.
Two: Engage. Write to your alma mater’s leadership — presidents, provosts, deans, trustees, the guy in charge of pruning the hedges (okay, maybe not him, but you get the idea).
Urge them to adopt the Chicago Statement — the Magna Carta of free speech in higher education—and commit to institutional neutrality, which would prevent the university from taking positions on current political issues. This approach will ensure your alma mater is a crucible for truth, not an administrative jukebox playing whatever tune is trending.
If you struggle to find the right words to say or simply lack the time to craft a letter that is punchy yet dignified, compelling yet not overly histrionic, FIRE offers ready-made emails which allow you to voice your frustrations with just one click.
Three: Give (meaningfully). Stop sending your alma mater blank checks or withdrawing your funds entirely, and consider a better option: Donate to FIRE in lieu of giving and we’ll write to your alma mater, letting them know that until they fully protect free speech rights on campus it will no longer earn your charitable donations. Think of it like a free speech escrow account — it’s not just giving. It’s leveraging.
The point, writes Ramkissoon, is that your alma mater matters, “not in some vague, admissions-office-brochure kind of way, but in a real, civilization-is-on-fire-without-them way.” Rather than walk away from a wayward alma mater, he urges concerned alumni to “step up, demand better, and help them correct-course.”
If that’s not an inspiring Game Day pep talk, we don’t know what is.
