Faculty and Students Unite for a Common Cause
On Thursday, April 17, faculty, students, and higher education staff across the United States will come together for a Nationwide Day of Action to advocate for the preservation and advancement of higher education as a public good. This large-scale mobilization, organized by the Coalition for Action in Higher Education (CAHE) in collaboration with the American Association of University Professors (AAUP), will involve over 100 coordinated demonstrations and events held at college campuses nationwide, including in Hawaii and Alaska.
According to organizers, the initiative seeks to amplify the collective voice of educators, researchers, students, and university employees who believe in the democratic mission of higher education. “It is our labor and our ideas that sustain higher education as a project for social equality and emancipation,” CAHE stated in a public release. The effort underscores the role of academic institutions in fostering critical thinking, free inquiry, and inclusive opportunity.
A Response to Mounting Challenges
This mobilization comes amid rising concerns over declining access to higher education, ballooning student debt, and perceived threats to academic freedom under the current Trump administration. Organizers argue that systemic issues—such as years of budget cuts and the corporatization of university management—have severely weakened the higher education system. They say institutions are increasingly favoring administrative growth while cutting back on essential faculty positions and student services.
The AAUP has also pointed out the long-standing trend of underfunding public colleges and universities, warning that it endangers the core mission of academic institutions. By prioritizing profit-oriented models, critics say, universities risk undermining both educational quality and the autonomy of educators.
At the heart of Thursday’s actions is a demand for a fundamental rethinking of higher education policy and priorities. Organizers aim to spotlight the need for reforms that prioritize equity, access, and freedom within the academic world.
Core Demands and the Vision Forward
The Nationwide Day of Action is not only a protest but a call to reimagine higher education in the U.S. Among the key demands put forward by participants are tuition-free public college education, cancellation of existing student loan debt, and the protection of academic freedom—especially for topics that are politically sensitive or labeled as “divisive.”
Other demands Nationwide Day of Action include safeguarding freedom of speech and political dissent on campuses, ensuring protections for non-citizen students and faculty engaged in activism, and securing union rights for all higher education workers.
Organizers emphasized that the goal of the action is to “renew the vision of higher education as an autonomous public good” and to acknowledge that university workers—faculty, staff, and students—are its most vital assets. By reclaiming this vision, they hope to build a system that better serves both individual learners and the broader society.
As April 17 approaches, students and faculty from coast to coast are preparing to stand together in defense of a more inclusive, equitable, and democratic future for American higher education.
