An Attack on Bee One Gee is an Attack on All: A Call for Collective Defense Across the Big Ten Map

Less than five weeks ago, the Rutgers University Senate passed a resolution calling for all of their Big Ten brethren to defend as a collective against the potential incursion or retaliation from the federal government. The Rutgers Plan proposed to create a mutual defense pact, an academic NATO: an attack on one of the Big Ten schools’ academic freedom, federal funding, or bedrock principles of independence would be an attack on all. The resolution was non-binding. It could not create a Mutual Academic Defense Compact (MADC) on its own. And more importantly, the Big Ten had not seen the threat come to its metaphorical shores, as the government’s actions had been confined primarily to the Ivy League. 

And yet, despite their attempts to avoid conflict with the federal government, Northwestern had $800 million in federal contracts and grants pulled from their budget without recourse or warning. They are the first Big Ten school to have grappled with this kind of attack. They will not be the last. 

Appeasement will not work. You will never win if you politely ask your opponent to stop rushing the ball down your throat. Put your head down and stuff the goddamn run or get off of the field. 

In the past four weeks, several Big Ten school faculty senates have co-signed the Rutgers Plan. First, it was just a handful: Nebraska, Indiana, Michigan State. And then Michigan and Washington followed. Last week, they were joined by Ohio State, Minnesota, and Maryland. My beloved Illinois passed the resolution yesterday. That brings us to 11 schools as signatories. Wisconsin votes on May 5th. USC joins them May 7th. If they both join, the tally rises to 12 of the 18 members. Academia moves slowly on good days. This was a herculean effort with a frenetic pace. We should be immensely proud of what our schools have done in a single month. They have been courageous when bravery has been lacking and swift when alacrity is rare. 

So if this is what the senates representing the tenure-track professors, assistants, adjuncts, students, and administrators from across the conference are doing, then what is the Big Ten Academic Alliance itself saying? I’ll include their statement from last week in its entirety. 

“The Big Ten Academic Alliance did not contribute to and has not endorsed the Rutgers University Senate’s recent resolution, or similar resolutions from other universities, calling for a ‘mutual defense compact’ across Big Ten Academic Alliance universities.

None of the Big Ten Academic Alliance’s Board of Directors, its elected Officers, or its staff were involved in, contributed to, or were consulted about, the creation, formulation, or passage of any of the recent resolutions. Further, the resolutions do not represent the position of the Big Ten Academic Alliance, nor are they binding on the Big Ten Academic Alliance or any of its member institutions.

The Big Ten Academic Alliance views resolutions passed by the faculty/university senates of its member institutions as campus matters and, consistent with Big Ten Academic Alliance policy, we do not comment on campus matters at our member institutions.”

I will leave it to you, dear reader, to parse how the BTAA statement lands with you personally. I would characterize it as flinching and feckless. Your mileage may vary. 

Which leads us to our next step as fans of collegiate sports, as obsessives of these institutions and traditions. The university senates were the first move, an incredibly important but low-hanging fruit. The MADC resolutions aren’t binding, the organization isn’t fleshed out. But the details don’t matter. The solidarity does. Senates across our conference have demonstrated that. It is now on us, as alumni, donors, supporters, fans, to make our voices heard and make the MADC manifest. 

The only power center that can speak for the universities and for the BTAA on this issue are the 18 university presidents and their respective boards — of trustees, governors, or regents, depending on the specific school. They have the sole authority to speak up and make real the promise of the MADC. And that’s the challenge. Academic administrators are cautious by nature and we are in an immense first-mover problem. But if we as collegiate sports fans, as the loudest, most dedicated, most obsessive representatives of the university, can get just one university president and governing board to budge on this, to stand strong for academic independence, to be the leader that they all have pledged to be? 

The first one is the hardest. The rest will follow. 

Write to your school’s president. Call their offices. Contact the governing board for your alma mater and tell them how you feel. I’ve included the contact links below. We’ve got all summer until football is back. Spread the word. Let’s get busy.