In 1959, Yale quietly turned down federal funding for student loans. It wasn’t about the money — it was a matter of conscience. Now, as universities once again face scrutiny, history reminds us that moments of pressure can become moments of principle.

Today, universities, including Yale, are again navigating intense pressure from many directions — the federal government, alumni, student activists and the general public — on issues ranging from free speech to investment ethics and institutional research priorities. President Maurie McInnis, like many of her predecessors, must weigh difficult choices.

The National Defense Education Act of 1958, passed under the Eisenhower Administration, was a key Cold War tool to combat the Soviet Union’s mass mobilization of intellectual resources. The Act appropriated funds for research and education in critical fields like the sciences, engineering and foreign languages. It also provided funding to universities to offer interest-free student loans, a game changing possibility at a time when elite universities were beginning to welcome students from more diverse backgrounds. It aimed to harness universities for national security — and, at the same time, to help open elite campuses to a broader range of students.

However, students accepting loans under the Act were required to swear an oath of allegiance to the United States and, most controversially, to sign an affidavit renouncing any affiliation with subversive organizations. Yale’s then-president, A. Whitney Griswold, drew a line. Oaths of allegiance were fine, he said, and in line with Yale’s patriotic commitment to national service. The disclaimer affidavits, though, were an act of suspicion toward students and scholars; nobody else accepting federal funding at the time was required to sign a similar affidavit. 

Griswold wrote to the New York Times, arguing that “the disclaimer affidavit … extends beyond the basic law of the land into the realm of belief and conscience, where definitions are vague and actions become matters of debate… The affidavit cannot create loyalty. Loyalty cannot be coerced or compelled.” Following Griswold’s principled advocacy alongside his peers at other institutions, the Act was amended to remove the affidavit requirement.

President Kingman Brewster, Jr., Griswold’s successor, was a staunch advocate for University partnership with the federal government for priorities of national importance. When the National Defense Education Act was up for revision in 1966, he wrote to Connecticut’s congressional delegation affirming his commitment to “making Yale a more significant national asset in the field of international and foreign studies,” calling for increased appropriations under the Act for foreign language and area studies. At the same time, he defended academic independence, making clear that federal funds should support Yale’s priorities — not dictate them.

The choices made by Presidents Griswold and Brewster weren’t acts of rebellion; they were expressions of confidence in the American system. Even amidst the profound institutional challenges of the time, they remained committed to Yale’s position both as an institution of free thinkers and as a proud bastion of the national interest. 

In her recent inaugural address, President McInnis declared that “each time our mettle is tested, Yale answers the call. Not by yielding to the winds of change… but by leading change ourselves.” She discussed the University’s dual role as a schoolhouse and a cathedral, pursuing both education and higher knowledge. As she pursues this mandate, President McInnis has an opportunity to continue her predecessors’ legacy of careful stewardship.

Universities rely on public trust and a variety of funding sources, but must also be spaces for open dialogue, diverse thought and constructive debate. When universities question federal decisions, they help keep national values honest. And when the government challenges institutions, it can also push them to reflect more deeply on their own. President McInnis’s response to current challenges will not be defiance, but long-term civic responsibility.

Writing in 1959, President Griswold expounded on how universities can best contribute to the nation. “It is not the disclaimer affidavit that will make our colleges and universities bulwarks of our security, nor even the oath of allegiance which they accept. It is our trust in them to pursue the course the nation has set for them—a course they can pursue in freedom and in no other way.” 

SAM YANKEE is a senior in Trumbull College studying History. He can be reached at sam.yankee@yale.edu.