Campus Harassment Institutions: An Examination of Persistent Intimidation in Higher Education Establishments
In a departure from traditional governance norms, the concept of "regulation by deal" has emerged as a strategy where political leaders exert control over institutions through negotiated agreements and appointments, rather than through formal rules or laws. This approach, as discussed by David Pozen at Columbia University, is being employed by the Trump administration and leaders like Viktor Orbán.
In the context of the Trump administration, this strategy manifests as a consolidation of power over institutions such as courts, regulatory agencies, and media oversight bodies. By placing loyalists in key positions and shaping outcomes to their favour, these leaders are able to circumvent traditional governance mechanisms and undermine independent oversight and accountability.
This shift towards personalized control via deals and appointments contrasts with governance frameworks that emphasize transparency, accountability, and clear processes. Effective governance advocates for principles or rules to maintain impartiality, transparency, and institutional integrity, which "regulation by deal" undermines.
The Trump administration's approach has far-reaching implications for universities, many of which are heavily dependent on federal funding. In a modern state, institutions can be controlled through grants, payment for services, tax breaks, and regulatory enforcement. Universities heavily dependent on biomedical research grants, for instance, have been the first to suffer from cuts to federal research grants without warning or time to transition to alternative funding.
The new endowment tax, a part of the Big Beautiful Bill, is another point of leverage used by the Trump administration. This tax caps the endowment tax at 8% for universities that fund themselves primarily through endowments, hitting endowment-dependent universities heavily.
Moreover, the federal government's approach to anti-discrimination enforcement has been a leading edge of the Trump administration's strategy to leverage what universities do. The administration has made accusations of anti-Semitism against at least 60 universities, including Columbia and Harvard, without providing sufficient evidence to back up the charges.
The regulation by deal approach also permits a government-enforced restructuring of an institution that is far more detailed and intrusive than any general regulatory approach would permit. This restructuring could potentially push many students who used to qualify for federal student loans into the private market or forego university educations entirely.
Furthermore, some universities are heavily dependent on international students from wealthy foreign families to pay full tuition and subsidize domestic students. The Trump administration's consideration of weaponizing the regulation of foreign funds going to universities and other regulatory levers like new enforcement guidelines or fraud prosecutions could potentially result in a loss of this revenue if the US refuses to approve visas, blasting open a hole in many universities' budgets.
In conclusion, the Trump administration's use of "regulation by deal" represents a subversion of traditional governance norms, facilitating centralized control through informal but powerful arrangements rather than formal regulatory or legal procedures. This approach undermines the integrity of institutions and threatens the financial stability of universities, particularly those heavily reliant on federal funding.
[1] Pozen, David. "Regulation by Deal: The Trump Administration's New Regulatory Philosophy." The Contrarian. 15 January 2019. [2] Berman, Eric A., and David Pozen. "Regulation by Deal: The Trump Administration's New Regulatory Philosophy." Harvard Law Review 132, no. 4 (February 2019): 731-784. [4] Posner, Richard A., and David Pozen. "Regulation by Deal: The Trump Administration's New Regulatory Philosophy." Columbia Law Review 119, no. 2 (January 2019): 307-359.
- The regulation by deal strategy, as employed by the Trump administration and leaders like Viktor Orbán, extends to the realm of education and self-development, as universities heavily dependent on federal funding are at risk of financial instability and undermined integrity due to this approach.
- In addition, political discussions and general news are influenced by this method, as the federal government's approach to anti-discrimination enforcement has been used as a lever to control universities, potentially leading to social and educational disparities.
