Baala Shakya, Staff Photographer

Student leaders from the Graduate and Professional Student Senate, or GPSS, have spearheaded a petition calling on the University to take a public stance in defense of academic freedom, institutional autonomy and the safety of Yale’s scholarly community.

The letter, co-authored with leadership from the Yale College Council and Graduate Student Assembly, has amassed 1,361 signatories from Yale’s graduate and professional schools and 72 from Yale College as of April 22. The letter urges University President Maurie McInnis, Provost Scott Strobel and the Yale Corporation to proactively resist what organizers describe as “tangible political threats” to higher education institutions across the United States.

“The Trump administration’s threats to place universities under receivership and defund those that resist ideological conformity jeopardize the intellectual integrity of institutions like ours,” GPSS President Saman Haddad LAW ’26 said. “Yale can, and must, model what it looks like to protect academic freedom in a time of rising authoritarianism.” 

The student letter, inspired by a faculty letter signed by more than 1,000 Yale professors, calls for the University administration to legally challenge unlawful political intrusions, protect research funding and safeguard academic departments from politically motivated restructuring. That faculty letter warned that “American universities are facing extraordinary attacks that threaten the bedrock principles of a democratic society.”

This letter also follows two similar alumni petitions that were signed by a combined 6,200 alumni.

The student letter was delivered to President McInnis at 8:34 a.m. Wednesday morning, Haddad said.

On Tuesday, April 22, McInnis signed onto a statement against government intrusion in higher education. 

“Statements like this could function as a soft threat to the Administration, declaring that intrusion will be resisted. Alternatively, the statement could be the very mild last gasp of institutions that are fearful to fully condemn the Administration’s actions,” Haddad wrote, reacting to McInnis’ letter. “All of this only matters insofar as these higher education leaders commit to resistance when pressed. Time will tell.”

The letter also addresses concerns about safety and visibility for signatories, particularly international and undocumented students. The letter allows students to sign anonymously, an option Haddad said is essential given current risks to international and undocumented students. 

Alex Rich GRD ’27, former president of GPSS and chair of GPSS’s External Affairs Committee, helped draft the letter alongside Haddad. She described the initiative as a necessary response to what she called “an insufficient strategy of institutional neutrality.”

“This letter doesn’t want to put a target on Yale’s back,” Rich said. “But like it or not, it’s already there. Tangible political threats are likely coming, so the requests in the letter are defensive.”

Rich emphasized that while the statement reflects only those who chose to sign on, the letter was intentionally inclusive and opt-in. 

“We wanted to make clear that this doesn’t claim to represent all, or even most of the student opinion — just those who sign on,” she said.

Rich also challenged the limits of institutional neutrality. 

“Even if we haven’t yet received direct demands from the government, our peer institutions have,” Rich said. “The unjust dismantling of higher education anywhere threatens higher education everywhere.”

Rosa Grijalva GRD ’28, vice president of GPSS and a neuroscience doctoral student, warned that losing federal support could halt life-saving scientific research.

“I chose Yale for its scientific excellence and commitment to cutting-edge research. Academic freedom is everything for us. We can’t bend,” Grijalva said. “Nearly all of us — graduate students, postdocs and faculty alike — depend on federal funding. Without it, we risk losing progress on critical scientific questions and jeopardizing the careers of postdocs, postgrads and research staff who may soon be out of work.” 

Grijalva studies how brain metabolism is affected by peripheral cancers to better understand chronic conditions like fatigue. Her work, like that of many others, is deeply reliant on government grants. 

“No reagents means no experiments. No funding means no science. And without science, we all lose,” she said.

There are 8,750 students enrolled across Yale’s 14 graduate and professional schools.

Correction, April 29: A previous version of this article misquoted Alex Rich saying “higher education everywhere” instead of “higher education anywhere.” The article has been updated with the correct quote.