Conservatives play offense on higher education
Lexi Lonas Cochran
September 20, 2024
Conservatives have secured multiple victories in the higher education space the past few years, taking advantage of missteps by opponents and a more aggressive movement that is unlikely to slow down its battle with college administrators.
“I think it’s been the best two years for conservatives in higher education in a half century,” said Rick Hess, senior fellow and the director of education policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI).
“I think some of these victories are more substantial than others, but I think the trajectory has been very helpful, and that this is a case of where conservatives are winning because they are broadly aligned with the vast majority of what the public thinks is appropriate in higher education,” Hess added.
Some of the biggest wins for the right have been in the legal arena, with the Supreme Court striking down universal student debt forgiveness and making affirmative action illegal in the college admissions process.
