Horror, shock, and calls for peace reverberated on Wednesday as college leaders, along with the rest of the nation, watched a violent mob — incited by President Trump — disrupt a key moment in the peaceful transfer of power in the nation’s capital.
Throngs of rioters streamed into the Capitol, halting the certification of the 2020 presidential election for hours and scattering lawmakers and their staffs. Violence between the pro-Trump mob and law-enforcement officers punctuated a day that college leaders later characterized as “outrageous,” “evil,” and “heartbreaking.”
The repudiation of the mayhem came from all corners of higher education. Scores of college presidents spoke out. More than 200 political scientists called for Trump’s immediate removal from office. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, one of the longest-serving members of Trump’s cabinet, called for an end to the “disruptions and violence.”
An angry mob cannot be allowed to attack our Capitol.
“An angry mob cannot be allowed to attack our Capitol,” she said.
Colleges in the District of Columbia closed early in response to the mayor’s 6 p.m. curfew, though operations were already quiet due to winter break and the Covid-19 pandemic. George Washington University called off a basketball game. Georgetown and Howard Universities encouraged students who live locally to stay home. The University of the District of Columbia shut down in the midafternoon. American University increased police patrols and pledged to adjust security precautions as needed.
Leaders in higher education were at first quiet as the extremists, following an inflammatory speech by Trump near the White House, broke through police lines and stormed the Capitol. Community-college presidents and leaders of historically Black colleges were among the first college leaders to speak out. David Wilson, president of Morgan State University, in Baltimore, called it an “attempted coup d’état.” Eloy Ortiz Oakley, chancellor of the California Community Colleges, called the rioters “domestic enemies.”
Presidents of bigger research universities, including the University of Colorado system and the University of Connecticut, and more selective private colleges soon joined in. “Knock, knock,” tweeted Michael S. Roth, president of Wesleyan University. “The fascists are here.”
Knock, knock. The fascists are here.
Roth told The Chronicle he had spent the afternoon flipping through news channels and watching live feeds from the Capitol “with increasing horror.” The Wesleyan president has been outspoken in criticizing Trump, as candidate and president, citing what he called the administration’s disdain for expertise and free speech.
Wednesday’s events marked an escalation, he said. Colleges stand for inquiry, which depends on certain agreements about fact. The chaos in Washington showed that the rioters believed in an alternative reality, he said.
“As we begin to restore order, let’s use education for the civic preparedness we desperately need,” he wrote in a statement later in the day.
It wasn’t just vocal Trump critics who spoke out against the violence. Mark R. Kennedy, president of the Colorado system, served as a Republican congressman from Minnesota from 2001 to 2007.
“In Congress I was told, ‘If you enter the Capitol and don’t feel awe and reverence, it’s time to retire,’” he posted on Twitter. “I never lost that feeling. I left when I lost a U.S. Senate race. The electorate spoke. I listened. The disrespect being shown to the temple of our democracy is heartbreaking.”
The disrespect being shown to the temple of our democracy is heartbreaking.
Christopher P. Gibson, president of Siena College, was a Republican congressman representing New York from 2011 to 2017. “The violence this afternoon in Washington, D.C., is completely antithetical to our nation’s most sacred values and must stop,” he wrote in a statement. “Protesters should yield to law-enforcement authorities and allow our democratic process to continue.”
Gibson was among a slate of college presidents who, shortly after November’s election, told The Chronicle that they expected to publicly urge respect for the electoral process. Some said that, if needed, they would use their positions to speak up for civil principles of democracy, which one president, Christina H. Paxson of Brown University, called a core tenet of “great universities.”
Paxson in November said that if an administration attempted to undermine democracy, she would speak out and would urge other college leaders to do the same. Initially her office was quiet on Wednesday. A spokeswoman for Brown said just after 6 p.m. that the university had felt publishing a statement that day would be hasty, as the campus considered how to best respond: “The substance of any statement is important, and as events in D.C. are still unfolding, we feel it is premature to consider thoughtfully and effectively the role or influence of our institutions.”
Later, however, Paxson wrote a message to the university, calling Wednesday’s events a “challenge to our democracy.”
“Although I am confident these efforts won’t be successful, they are a reminder that democracy is precious but fragile,” she wrote. “We may take it for granted, but we shouldn’t.”
At many colleges there are few students on campus, given the pandemic and winter break, unlike when protests broke out following the 2016 election and shortly after Trump’s inauguration, in 2017.
Without in-person gatherings, students may feel overwhelmed, Roth of Wesleyan said. Institutions promoted resources virtually on Wednesday. The University of California at Davis shared “tips for managing sociopolitical stress,” and West Virginia University and the University of Utah shared information on counseling.
