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500 signatures reached
To: University of Pennsylvania President J. Larry Jameson and the Board of Trustees
Penn: Reject the federal government’s political control
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To: University of Pennsylvania President J. Larry Jameson and the Board of Trustees
We are Quaker Courage, a coalition of Penn alumni, faculty, students, and supporters from different generations, disciplines, and viewpoints standing up for academic freedom and institutional independence. This community is united by our beliefs in intellectual honesty, respect for differences, and the freedom to express all viewpoints through robust discussion.
These values face an unprecedented assault from the federal government. Among its many attacks, the Trump administration has demanded that Penn:
- Turn over lists of Jewish faculty, staff, and students with their personal information
- Institute admissions practices that discriminate against international students
- Report on students’ and faculty’s ideological affiliations and statements
- Quash student protests and police professors’ personal political statements
- Expose academic departments to federal interference
- Publicly undermine legal protections for marginalized Penn communities, including transgender students
These attacks are not going away. Penn’s actions now are critical.
We applaud Penn’s leadership for taking a brave and defiant stance in defense of the Penn Jewish community in court, and for rejecting Trump’s Compact for Higher Education. Now it’s time to strengthen that resolve.
Academic freedom is central to the identity of Penn, an institution built on the vision of Benjamin Franklin. We call on the University of Pennsylvania administration to do the following:
- Re-commit to academic freedom in admissions and employment, curricular and departmental independence, research, and intellectual debate
- Defend students’ and faculty's speech, protest, and privacy rights
- Protect safety of immigrant and international students, faculty, and staff
- Reinstate eliminated DEI programs
- Reject any future demands, agreements, or “offers” from the Administration or other political actors that would violate the above commitments
We recognize defiance risks retaliation, including canceled grants and research contracts. We believe this coercion itself threatens our constitutional principles. We know capitulation compromises Penn’s founding principles and the quality of its education.
Penn can turn these challenges into an opportunity—to assert its leadership in the national conversations about scientific independence, academic diversity, and freedom of thought.
Why is this important?
The Trump Administration is trying to place the University of Pennsylvania and colleges across the country under its political control. Join with Quaker Courage to tell President J Larry Jameson and Penn’s Board of Trustees to protect Penn’s academic freedom and independence from the federal government.
Please sign and share this petition link with University of Pennsylvania alumni, faculty, staff, students, allies, and anyone else you think will add their name now to stand up for campus freedom.