On Tues., April 22, President Steven Tepper signed and released a joint statement condemning the Trump administration’s attempts to interfere with higher education. Tepper was among more than 220 other academic leaders from colleges, universities and scholarly societies across the United States to sign this statement.

The Trump administration’s recent actions against higher education have specifically targeted diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, federal funding, athletics and international students’ abilities to learn in the U.S. The administration has already threatened to or taken action by cutting funding for several elite universities, including $400 million from Columbia University and $2.2 billion from Harvard University, until significant policy changes are made.

In response, the joint statement claims that the Trump administration’s “unprecedented government overreach and political interference [is] now endangering American higher education.” The academic leaders reaffirm their commitment to creating a space in their respective institutions where students, staff and faculty can express their thoughts and views “without fear of retribution, censorship, or deportation.”

“The price of abridging the defining freedoms of American higher education will be paid by our students and our society,” the statement reads. “On behalf of our current and future students, and all who work at and benefit from our institutions, we call for constructive engagement that improves our institutions and serves our republic.”