Former U.S. Senator Phil Gramm argued that AI would be a force for economic good and drew parallels to the Industrial Revolution in a lecture at WashU last Thursday.

WashU Chancellor Andrew D. Martin spoke with Student Life on Wednesday, April 1 about WashU’s engagement with the Trump administration and Congress, University finances, the addition of a new pharmacy school, artificial intelligence, emergency preparedness, and more.

We must remain vigilant against the tirade of misinformation brought on by our current administration, using our own eyes and ears to discern facts from convenient distortions of the truth.

The University-wide average GPA rose from 3.37 in fall 2004 to 3.57 in fall 2019. It increased rapidly during the COVID-19 pandemic — by spring 2021, it reached 3.73. 

The University employs professional lobbyists at the federal, state, and local levels, and since last spring, has included student volunteers in the effort through Bears Caucus, a student lobbying group created by WashU’s Office of Government & Community Relations.

While Chancellor Martin may continue to be in talks with the Trump administration about the compact, we implore him and other members of the University’s administration to stand by the values and goals we have committed to as a University. Moreover, we call on him to take stances beyond the scope of this compact, as the Trump administration continues to make decisions impacting the WashU community, both on and off campus.

Amidst these circumstances, Student Life, alongside 54 other student news organizations, signed on to an amicus brief in a lawsuit filed by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, the Stanford Daily, and two other individuals.

In an email sent to faculty midday Wednesday, Martin wrote that WashU will not sign the compact “or any document that undermines our mission or our core values, perhaps highest among these our commitment to academic freedom, access, free expression, and research integrity.”

Dean of WashU’s College of Arts & Sciences, Feng Sheng Hu, told faculty at a meeting on Tuesday that Chancellor Andrew D. Martin does not plan to sign the Trump administration’s compact for higher education in its current form, according to five faculty in attendance.

Chancellor Andrew D. Martin explained his decision to meet with Trump administration officials to discuss their proposed compact for higher education in a University-wide email sent Monday morning. He also noted in the message that his participation in the meeting does not mean WashU has endorsed or signed the document.