In Troubled Times: A Call to Action from Professor Ted Gup

Editor’s Note: In the final issue of the Phoenix this semester, we are introducing a new column, entitled “In Troubled Times,” which will continue as a weekly segment in Fall 2025. In this column, we will feature perspectives from throughout the Swarthmore community discussing the uncertain, tumultuous, and repressive environment on campus and across the country. This week’s writer is Eugene M. Lang Visiting Professor for Issues of Social Change Ted Gup.

There is something happening on campus that disturbs me, or, to be more precise, there is something that is not happening on campus that disturbs me. I am speaking of the relative silence with which Swarthmore has dealt with the deliberate and systematic dismantling of American democracy. I write this out of love for both this college and this country. Keeping silent has never been an effective defense against tyranny. 

Swarthmore has an illustrious history of social engagement on slavery, women’s rights, McCarthyism, civil rights, the Vietnam War, and Palestinian rights, to name but a few. It is in our DNA. But to date, Swarthmore has said little about the existential threat we all face from an administration that has shown contempt for due process, civil liberties, and academic freedom. 

I believe that this is the moment – our moment. We at Swarthmore are all called upon to “Mind the Light.” That is, if I understand correctly, a call not only to meditate and reflect but to act upon one’s convictions, to work towards a more equitable and just society. 

I would urge students, faculty, administration, staff, and alumni – all who share the view that our basic rights are being threatened – to mobilize and act in concert. Swarthmore, with its roots in the Quaker faith, its tradition of social activism, and its location in the cradle of the Bill of Rights, now has an opportunity to assume a leadership role in opposing this assault on the Constitution and human decency. I believe that no institution is better positioned to take up the fight. 

With our formidable endowment – $2.7 billion – and our lack of reliance on federal funds, we have an uncommon degree of immunity from the external pressures and coercion that others face. A generation from now, we should be able to look back on these days with the pride that comes from knowing we took a stand. I am not alone in believing we have a custodial duty to those who come after us to do no less. And as teachers, we have a responsibility to prepare our students to take their place as engaged citizens and active participants in the democratic process.  This we do not solely by words, but by personally modeling what it is to live a life defined by principle. 

As a community, we cannot afford to indulge in internal animosities or allow old grudges to divide us and distract us from the task at hand. There will be no Justice for Palestine movement if all of its leaders nationwide are picked off one by one and deported. We must be united and recognize that we share a common cause and face a common threat. “We must all hang together, or, most assuredly, we shall hang separately,” said Ben Franklin.  

I know that none of us is oblivious to what is happening. And it is all too easy to feel overwhelmed and fatigued by the rapidity and magnitude of change. I know this too from conversations with students, that many do not see any clear or effective path for civic engagement. But it is our duty as campus elders, administrators, staff, alumni, and students to forge an alliance and together identify specific ways to promote the values which define us both individually and institutionally. If we at Swarthmore are not up to the challenge, then, I fear, no one is.

I am a journalist and a writer. Two days after Trump’s first election to office, I got my one and only tattoo. It is a single word emblazoned on the ball of my right shoulder. It reads  “LIBERTY.” It is there to say that I have no intention of going quietly. I am the Eugene M. Lang visiting professor for issues of “social change.” I take that charge seriously. But I also recognize that I am surrounded by great minds with far deeper knowledge and experience in matters of social activism and political engagement. I gladly defer to my more learned colleagues and the communities at large. I write this solely out of a desire to stimulate discussion of these vital issues and to heighten awareness of the responsibilities we have to each other, to the nation at large, and to posterity.   

What can be done? I have some thoughts on this, but I recognize that I am a newcomer to the college. What I offer below – little more than vague musings – are meant as conversation-starters, not as formal proposals. I am a journalist, not a scholar. I have more questions than answers. Please accept these suggestions in the spirit in which they were intended.

 First, I suggest that we consider convening an all-college meeting to recognize the extraordinary nature of the crisis and to begin to mobilize. There, we might prioritize our concerns and create ad hoc panels representing the college’s diverse stakeholders, their assignment being to identify what can and should be done. We would focus on those Issues of most immediate concern: immigration, free speech, academic independence, etc. 

I should also propose that the college offer an intensive two-day course in citizenship, team-taught, that explores the history of citizenship, its rights, and responsibilities. I would also suggest that Swarthmore organize and host a national conference with high-profile keynote speakers who are champions of liberty. That wish-list might include the likes of Alexei Navalny’s widow, Yulia, Yale’s tyranny expert Tim Snyder, New York Times columnist David Brooks, former Wall Street Journal editor Max Boot, author Ta-Nehisi Coates, Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, etc. Go Big or Go Home. This is no time for timidity. 

Ideally, we might work collaboratively with our sister colleges in the area and perhaps have a plenary session in Philadelphia’s National Constitution Center. I would also like to explore the possibility of Swarthmore hosting a celebration of liberty with musicians like Bruce Springsteen and other outspoken defenders of democracy. Finally, I would like to see a weekly email coming out from the administration and distributed to the entire community containing a provocative prose excerpt, poem, or quotation that reflects on the meaning of democracy, Constitutional government, or perhaps, the value of dissent. (Think John Stuart Mill, John Locke, etc.) 

I have been somewhat hesitant to write these words both because of my temporary status as a visiting professor and because I do not believe it is the right of any one person, particularly an academic transient, to presume to know what is best for an entire community. Besides, only a fool would not be humbled by the intellectual firepower of the Swarthmore community.  But I also know that it is up to each and every one of us to step forward with ideas. We cannot let the perfect be the enemy of the good. It is perfectly understandable that we were, for a time, shell-shocked by this bold assault on our freedoms. But that time is past. All the elements for a peaceful, creative, and compelling campaign in defense of liberty exist on this campus. They wait only to be awakened. 

I am reminded of the commencement speech given by Swarthmore’s Nora Sweeney, class of ‘24. She repeated the timely words of Martin Luther King: “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about the things that matter.”