I rarely have good news to blog about, so I’m delighted to dedicate my entire post today to some good news that came from President Sally Kornbluth of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) last Friday.
U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon has recently invited nine colleges and universities to sign a compact to change admissions policies and the way they hire faculty. By signing the compact, the colleges and universities give up their right to make public a stance on societal or political events. They must be neutral, as in no opinion, no free thinking, no thoughts whatsoever. You know, sort of like operating in an authoritarian nation.
They must also agree to define sex as “male” and “female.” They must do all this while they ensure there is “a broad spectrum of viewpoints” on their campuses. I’m not sure how you can do that while meeting the other requirements. Some of the requirements appear to negate the others.
In return for signing the compact, a college would receive preferential treatment for federal funding. It seems like a high price to pay.
On Friday, October 10, 2025, in a letter to Secretary McMahon, MIT President Sally Kornbluth rejected the promised preferential treatment and refused to sign the compact. It was reported that in her letter, Kornbluth indicated that MIT disagrees with principles set forth by the Trump Administration in the compact and signing it would restrict the school’s freedom of speech and independence.
MIT is the first of the nine colleges to respond to Secretary McMahon’s offer of preferential treatment. Other schools that received McMahon’s offer for preferential treatment in return to selling their souls to the Trump Administration include are Brown University, Dartmouth College, the University of Arizona, the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Southern California, the University of Texas at Austin, the University of Virginia, and Vanderbilt University.
It seems to me that most of the people who have stood up to President Trump have been women. My mother would be so proud of them!
Here’s a link to the ten-page “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education”: https://htv-prod-media.s3.amazonaws.com/files/compact-for-academic-excellence-in-higher-education-10-1-68de9071401bf.pdf .
I think any school that signs the compact needs to remove the word “university” from its name.
Janet
Janet's Writing Blog 
A blogger informed me that India recognizes a 3rd sex, eunuchs, which pretty much describes our Congress rolling over and playing dead so Trump gets anything he wants. Abhorable.
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Three cheers for MIT, my granddad’s alma mater!!
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Yes… a pretty good description of Congress.
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I have no personal connection to MIT, but the decision made my heart sing!
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Integrity! What a great concept!
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Yes, integrity. Seems in short supply.
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Please don’t hate the opposing view here. I enjoy discussing issues with those of differing views.
Why can’t we agree that humans are born male or female by genitalia and then acknowledge that not everyone has brain waves that match their genitalia?
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I don’t hate opposing views. I don’t understand why you are asking me the question you present or what it has to do with this blog post.
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I would describe them more as impotent than eunuchs, but certainly nonfunctioning. 🙃🤔😱
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I’m slow to see your comment. Not sure whether I missed seeing it yesterday or WordPress just now sent it through. Who knows? Anyway, yes impotent and nonfunctioning. I saw that your Governor has the National Guard ready for the No Kings Rally. I think we’re at the point now that no law-abiding America-loving patriot will consider signing up for the National Guard from this point forward. What a shame! The Guard is being used as nothing but a political pawn now. Disgusting! I guess I just went off on another tangent. I can’t help myself.
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Thanks for the info. Since neither of or two local stations offer weekend morning news, and I didn’t hear this last evening, I didn’t know Youngkin had activated the Guard. Disappointed but not surprised. Normally he has kept Trump at arm’s length.
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I read it yesterday, but now I can’t remember the source. It was reputable, though, or I wouldn’t have repeated it. I only saw that reference once and I did not hear or see to what level he called them up. I was surprised as well. Not by Texas, of course, but I was surprised at Youngkin. Speaking of Virginia, my sister told me a few minutes ago that the University of Virginia and Dartmouth have joined MIT in refusing to sign McMahon’s agreement. I hope they all refuse!
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Excellent. All of the protests were peaceful and the Guard wasn’t needed. Go UVA and the other universities that won’t sell their souls to the Orange One.
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