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Jonathan Gilligan

@jgilligan.org

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Jonathan Gilligan @jgilligan.org · 2d

Vanderbilt AAUP press release about the Vanderbilt Faculty Senate voting overwhelmingly to adopt a resolution opposing the President's proposed Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education as an unconstitutional & illegal infringement on rights & freedoms.

vanderbiltaaup.org/2025/10/09/v...

Vanderbilt Faculty Senate Votes Overwhelmingly to Oppose Trump Loyalty Oath

The Vanderbilt Faculty Senate overwhelmingly passed a resolution opposing President Trump’s proposed “Compact for Excellence in Higher Education.” The resolution, citing concerns …

vanderbiltaaup.org

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Jonathan Gilligan @jgilligan.org · 4h

What does this have to do with Democrats?

Jonathan Gilligan @jgilligan.org · 4h

Trans folks love it when people who call us "freaks" and "perverts" do it with civility. That makes all the difference.

Jonathan Gilligan @jgilligan.org · 6h

Are you listening, Daniel Diermeier?

Ted McCormick @tedmccormick.bsky.social · 13h

Shared courtesy of my Penn History colleague, Ben Nathans

Image: A variation on Benjamin Franklin’s “Join, or Die” engraving, originally published in the Pennsylvania Gazette in 1754. Each segment of the snake has the name of a university sent Trump’s “compact”: Texas, AZ, Vanderbilt, USC, Dartmouth, UVA, Brown, Penn, MIT.

Reposted by Jonathan M. Gilligan

derek guy @dieworkwear.bsky.social · 7h

It's hard to help Americans left behind because so much of US identity is rooted in individualism. The average American conservative holds all three positions at once:

— Virtue signals about supporting US manufacturing
— Against raising the minimum wage
— Buys foreign imports because they're cheap

HardPass4 on Twitter tweets: "I'm willing to pay more for quality products if they are made in America, by Americans, who are paid a decent income." The tweet shows Norman Rockwell's "Freedom of Speech" painting, which is often used to show the tweeter is expressing a brave opinion.

HardPass4 on Twitter tweets: "MINIMUM WAGE JOBS WERE NOT MEANT TO BE A CAREER. Why does no one understand this? Entry level jobs are STEPPING STONES to better jobs. No one wants to work towards that though."

HardPass4 on Twitter tweets: "Buy $5 gloves instead of $50 ones. Trust me." The tweet shows a box of "Gorilla Grip" gloves.

The label on Gorilla Grip gloves show they're made in China.

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Jonathan Gilligan @jgilligan.org · 9h

Strong Damien Trump vibe.

Still from The Omen: Damien in a car, with his parents Robert and Katherine sitting behind him.

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Ted McCormick @tedmccormick.bsky.social · 13h

Shared courtesy of my Penn History colleague, Ben Nathans

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Reposted by Peter Thorne, Jonathan Wolff, Jonathan M. Gilligan , and 5 more Peter Thorne, Jonathan Wolff, Jonathan M. Gilligan, Rebecca Tushnet, Stacy D. VanDeveer, Scott A. Imberman, Michael D. McDonald, Clayton Littlejohn

derek guy @dieworkwear.bsky.social · 1d

About a month ago, the Trump administration got rid of the de minimis exemption, whereby packages valued under $800 could slide in without import duties. Now there's a backlog as the government can't process all of this paperwork, leading to UPS just destroying packages

Business Insider headline reads: UPS is telling customers that their packages coming to the US are marked for destruction.

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Jonathan Gilligan @jgilligan.org · 1d

The writing is unremarkable to me, neither good nor bad. It's a corporate memo.

What does come across powerfully is the veiled Elon Musk, justify your job because heads will roll tone. She hints without coming out and saying it, which sends a powerful gust of poison into the workplace.

Jonathan Gilligan @jgilligan.org · 2d

Sure, Jan.

Photo of Kid Rock with Trump in the Oval Office. Kid Rock is wearing an outfit that is remarkably cringe, even for him. It's bright red, with white stars and blue trim, a US flag on his abdomen, just above the crotch area, and eagle wings, placed vaguely like lapels on his upper torso, ignoring the anatomical detail that eagles have wings on their dorsal, not their ventral aspect. He finishes the outfit with dark glasses, white cowboy boots, and a white pork pie hat. As though this were not sufficiently ugly, the suit is horrendously tailored and does not fit his body. It's too tight to hang well, and the trousers bunch along his legs.

Jonathan Gilligan @jgilligan.org · 2d

I am reminded that the New England Puritans believed that public education for boys and girls alike was absolutely necessary, because everyone needed to be literate to read scripture.

For those who go in for originalism, public education and literacy were foundational values for the United States.

Reposted by Lisa W. Fazio, Juan Cole

Jonathan Gilligan @jgilligan.org · 2d

Student governments of Vanderbilt, MIT, Brown, Dartmouth, Penn, UVA, and Arizona issued a joint statement condemning the Compact and stating that "Academic Freedom is not negotiable." www.instagram.com/p/DPm507ljBJ...

On October 1st, 2025, the White House sent the Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education to our seven universities, outlining expectations universities must meet to continue receiving federal benefits.

Although the compact's full implications remain unclear, the document outlines
unprecedented expectations universities must meet to receive federal benefits. This could systemically alter the mission of higher education and erode the independence that has long defined our universities. We must not allow these attempts to control what can be taught, studied, or spoken on our campuses.

Our universities represent the full spectrum of American higher education, from liberal arts colleges to leading research institutions. As students, this directly impacts us, and thus, our voices must be heard. We know firsthand that institutional autonomy is instrumental to the perpetuation of innovation and progress. As the Compact itself acknowledges, “American higher education is the envy of the world and represents a key strategic benefit for our Nation," yet the document undermines the very principles that make this statement true. Our administrations have been presented with a false choice between their commitments to knowledge and education and our access to the resources that sustain them. To preserve our status as world leaders in education, we must remain true to the foundation of academic freedom that has propelled us forward.

As student representatives, we stand in united opposition to the outlined conditions. We call on our community of students, faculty, alumni, and leadership to reaffirm our commitment to reject political interference and federal overreach. Academic freedom is not negotiable.

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Reposted by Jonathan M. Gilligan

Lisa Fazio @lkfazio.bsky.social · 2d

Proud of my Vanderbilt colleagues for making it clear that our university should reject the proposed "Compact". As I state below - this deal is a devil's bargain and should be rejected in all forms. (And yay to MIT for their clear rejection today!)

www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnb...

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Jonathan Gilligan @jgilligan.org · 2d

John Carpenter's Fitzcarraldo

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Reposted by Gavin A. Schmidt, Jonathan M. Gilligan, Joseph Schafer , and 2 more Gavin A. Schmidt, Jonathan M. Gilligan, Joseph Schafer, Nancy M. Wingfield, Stuart Shapiro

Kevin St. Alder @kevinstalder.bsky.social · 2d

Statement from the Nobel Peace Prize Committee 👏 🙏

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Jonathan Gilligan @jgilligan.org · 3d

John Carpenter's The Man who Came to Dinner

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Jonathan Gilligan @jgilligan.org · 3d

I post here as a mere faculty senator, one among dozens, and I do not speak for the senate or the university.

Jonathan Gilligan @jgilligan.org · 3d

The resolution was modeled on the resolution adopted by the faculty senate at the University of Virginia, and we intend this to signify the Vanderbilt faculty senate's commitment to inter-university solidarity.

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Jonathan Gilligan @jgilligan.org · 3d

The resolution calls on the Chancellor and the Board of Trust to completely reject the proposed compact and any similar measure that may be proposed in the future.

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Jonathan Gilligan @jgilligan.org · 3d

Yesterday, Vanderbilt's faculty senate enacted a resolution condemning the Trump "Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education" as an illegal, unconstitutional infringement on civil rights and academic freedom, and an unacceptable infringement on institutional independence.

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Reposted by Jonathan M. Gilligan

Collin Fisher 🇺🇦 @collinfisherphd.bsky.social · 3d

Pictured: Albert Speer showing Hitler his model for the Arch of Triumph. It was to be built in Berlin, but a lack of triumph got in the way.

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Jonathan Gilligan @jgilligan.org · 3d

UK universities are facing 10,000 to 20,000 redundancies and funding cuts for research are hurting scientists who have kept their jobs.

www.theguardian.com/education/20...

UK universities cut back on crucial research because of reduced funding

One in five institutions spending less, including in areas such as cancer and heart disease, says report

www.theguardian.com

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Jonathan Gilligan @jgilligan.org · 4d

My ebike changed my life. In very good ways. No exaggeration.

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Reposted by Jonathan M. Gilligan

Freddie O’Connell @freddieoconnell.bsky.social · 5d

Polls are open!

Nashville, we have an important special election in one of the three congressional districts that now cover the city.

If you live in TN-7, you have an important federal accountability moment.

#Vote #BeAVoter

vote.nashville.gov

Davidson County Election Commission | Nashville.gov

Official website of the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County

vote.nashville.gov

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Jonathan Gilligan @jgilligan.org · 6d

Wondering why Ben and Huw have not done an episode on Bari Weiss.

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Jonathan Gilligan @jgilligan.org · 6d

It's like Jack Benny's routine, where the robber says, "your money or your life!" and Benny can't decide.

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Reposted by Jonathan M. Gilligan

Shanna "Read Black Fantasy" Miles @srmilesauthor.bsky.social · 6d

There are some very strange things going on at the Library of Congress. I’m doing searches for news articles from the Civil Rights Era. Political cartoons. That sort of thing. They used to be easily found.

That stuff is VERY hard to find now. Things are missing, people.

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Reposted by Jonathan M. Gilligan

Dr. Rebecca J. Epstein-Levi @rjelevi.bsky.social · 6d

Vandy AAUP on the Compact. Share widely!

"We join the @aaup.org National Leadership in urging the Board of Trust, Chancellor Diermeier, Provost Raver, & the Vanderbilt leadership to completely reject this Trump loyalty oath & any other that seeks to commandeer Vanderbilt’s institutional autonomy."

Statement by the Vanderbilt AAUP Executive Committee on the “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education”

October 6, 2025 On October 2nd, Vanderbilt was among nine universities “invited” to sign a “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education” with the federal government. The Compact, however, i…

vanderbiltaaup.org

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Reposted by Aviel Roshwald

Jonathan Gilligan @jgilligan.org · 6d

The Vanderbilt chapter of @aaup.org has issued a statement condemning President Trump's proposed "Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education" as an illegal assault on civil rights, academic freedom, shared governance, and institutional autonomy.

vanderbiltaaup.org/2025/10/06/s...

Statement by the Vanderbilt AAUP Executive Committee on the “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education”

vanderbiltaaup.org

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Reposted by Jonathan M. Gilligan

Andy Pinedo @profandy.bsky.social · 6d

Proud that the Vanderbilt AAUP has collectively and publicly declared opposition to the Trump compact for higher education: vanderbiltaaup.org/2025/10/06/s...

Statement by the Vanderbilt AAUP Executive Committee on the “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education”

vanderbiltaaup.org

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