Fareed Salmon, Contributing Photographer

Over 400 faculty and Yale community members rallied on Cross Campus against political attacks on higher education on Thursday.

The rally, organized by Yale’s chapter of the American Association of University Professors, was part of a national day of action and followed weeks of faculty organizing to urge University administrators to publicly resist President Donald Trump’s policies threatening Yale’s research and values.

“No to the defunding of university research, no to the targeting of international students and immigrant workers, no to the suppression of free speech and protest, no to attacks on unions and on workers,” Adam Waters, president of Local 33 UNITE HERE, Yale’s graduate workers’ union, said during a speech at the rally.

During the first three months of Trump’s presidency, the federal government targeted higher education, citing universities’ failure to address antisemitism as a reason for slashing research funding and detaining international student protesters.

More than a dozen faculty members and union leaders spoke at the rally on the importance of their work as academics and University employees. Many of the speakers emphasized the need for faculty, students, University workers and other community members to stand together in their advocacy against Trump’s policies.

“These threats are not limited to one part of the university or one field,” professor Daniel HoSang, president of Yale’s AAUP chapter, told the News. “They’re widespread, and we recognize that there’s an intention to try to play different fields against one another, to isolate people.”

According to HoSang, the rally took weeks of planning calls, during which faculty at different universities shared ideas for how to mobilize against research funding cuts and the deportation of student protesters. 

Faculty speaker Phillip Atiba Solomon extended his attention beyond threats to faculty and students and highlighted how advocacy concerning sectors such as policing and transportation is also necessary.

“If we are just here for ourselves and our students, we are not here for enough,” Solomon said. “That is the easy work.”

Solomon also argued that given Yale’s large endowment size at $41.4 billion, the University is one of the most well-resourced institutions to combat Trump’s attacks on higher education. 

A University spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Taran Samarth, a graduate student member of Local 33, told the News that there has been a long history of cross-coalition organizing among the local unions for graduate students, technical staff and maintenance staff. 

New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker was also present at the rally. Elicker told the News that while his views may have differed from those of some pro-Palestinian student protesters in the past, there is “no gap” between him and the rally attendees when it comes to defending free speech, international students and research funding.

“It’s inspiring to see a lot of people coming out publicly to push back against the Trump administration, and I think we need a lot more of that,” Elicker said.

Some students held up a pro-Palestinian banner calling for divestment throughout the rally, while others held up Palestinian flags. 

The last major renovation of Cross Campus was completed in 1968–1969.