The Trump administration this week tried to make nine elite research universities an offer they can’t refuse. In exchange for vaguely defined funds, MIT, Dartmouth, Brown, Vanderbilt, the University of Virginia, and others were asked to sign a nine-page “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education” that amounts to complete adoption of the MAGA higher-education agenda. If they don’t agree? “The institution elects to forego federal benefits,” seemingly including federal contracts and access to student loans. https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2025/10/higher-education-compact-trump-deal/684457/