In late February, the United States’ Department of Defense announced Auburn as a potential new partner for military education programs. In these military education programs, promising military personnel are often given a 1-year fellowship in civilian education facilities to develop knowledge and skills that would allow them to be better assets to the U.S. military.
This news comes after a social media video in which Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth proclaimed that the U.S. government would be severing ties from “elite” universities like those in the Ivy League. He described such universities as promoting “wokeness,” “weakness” and “leftist ideology.”
First, it is essential to lay out that Auburn definitely is a strong candidate for a military partnership like this. Auburn contains the specific type of graduate programs that Hegseth laid out in his signed memorandum. Auburn also already has strong military partnerships. Just last year, Auburn received an $11.4 million contract through the Military Defense Agency in order to establish a one-of-a-kind radiation hardening facility.
Auburn is also a school that seems to pride itself on its patriotic imagery. Every home football game, Auburn honors a military veteran's service in their “Game Day Hero” showcase. Attendees are sure to see flashy flyovers and Auburn football players hoisting the American flag as they run through the tunnel.
The second to last line of the Auburn Creed even states, “I believe in my Country, because it is a land of freedom and because it is my own home, and that I can best serve that country by ‘doing justly, loving mercy, and walking humbly with my God.’”
This opportunity would almost certainly be a win for Auburn. The ability to educate premier U.S. military’s officers would instantly raise Auburn’s status. It would feed a steady stream of, presumably qualified, students to the university who can bring diverse perspectives to the classroom. Further, a stronger relationship with the federal government could bring more opportunities to Auburn students as a whole.
However, it's essential to look past the immediate benefits of such a program. We need to ask ourselves whether Auburn truly earned the right to have such a program, or if this is simply a political ploy meant to strike back at universities that have drawn the ire of the administration.
The memo that Hegseth published was specifically titled, "Aligning Senior Service College Opportunities with American Values." This begs the question of what “American values" mean to this administration.
Auburn has a reputation for being one of the most politically conservative universities in the nation. For Hegseth, is the term “American” synonymous with the word “Republican?” It is not an abstract possibility that this administration would make massive shifts in the way that we train our military’s officers for purely partisan reasons.
This announcement comes after months of the Trump administration attacking elite academic institutions in their quest to expunge “wokeness.” For example, the University of Pennsylvania was strong-armed into changing certain policies around transgender people. Many other institutions have been accused of antisemitism in connection with pro-Palestinian protests on their campuses. Just last week, the Trump administration sued Harvard for billions over such claims.
A troubling part of the memorandum reads that, among other criteria, Auburn and the other potential partner universities were selected for “minimum public expressions in opposition of the Department.”
While Auburn may not be a hot-bed for progressive action, the community has still had a fair share of protests against the Trump administration and general Republican action. Ranging all the way back to 2020, the Toomer’s Sit-In group has organized daily demonstrations at one of Auburn’s most recognizable landmarks. In 2024, we saw a violent altercation end a pro-Palestinian demonstration at Toomer’s. Even this academic year, The Plainsman has covered multiple protests against ICE and the Trump administration.
While these demonstrations are sparse, they are still present. If more people wanted to join them, that would be their right.
Even so, could we see a Trump-partnered Auburn be pressured into hindering people's ability to protest things that this administration finds favorable? We’ve seen the Trump administration successfully goad a university like Columbia into changing its rules surrounding protests.
Could we see a Trump-partnered Auburn be pressured into cracking down on student groups that promote ideas the administration doesn’t like? We've seen the University of Alabama cancel two student magazines this school year in order to appease the Trump Administration. Could a publication like The Auburn Circle be next if they were to publish an issue surrounding topics that the administration doesn’t approve of?
Would Auburn, if partnered with this program, be expected to play cheerleader for all of the Department of Defense's or the Trump administration’s actions? Would Auburn be expected to support this administration as they conduct military operations in Iran, a conflict that has already taken the life of one Auburn alumnus?
We understand that this potential partnership could bring a wealth of opportunity to Auburn, and we are certainly not advocating that Auburn turns this down. Still, we would hope that Auburn University would not sacrifice its integrity for such a partnership by blindly bowing to the will of the Trump administration.
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Jordan Wright, sophomore majoring in Law and Justice, has been with The Auburn Plainsman since January 2025. He is currently serving as the Opinion Editor.
