Since the beginning of The Free Press, we have paid particular attention to the story of institutional capture—specifically, to the story of how America’s great institutions of higher education, charged with educating the country’s future leaders, have been taken hostage by an illiberal ideology that has replaced the pursuit of truth with moral confusion and knee-jerk social justice activism.

In the days since Hamas began its war on Israel, we have seen that ideology in full blossom as students have cheered for terrorists on the quad and administrators have tried, for the first time, to stay out of it.

The reaction has alarmed university donors. One of them is Marc Rowan, who sits on the Wharton School’s board of overseers. He made news in our pages earlier this week when he announced he was closing his checkbook—and urged other people of conscience to do the same. Some, as you will read below, have followed suit.

Who will be next? And has the woke bill finally come due?

[It might help, and it’s certainly better than doing nothing. But I suspect that the effect will be to just keep the lid on the institutional capture by progressive nihilists rather than do anything to reverse it. The hate will remain; only the volume of the rhetoric will get tamped down. — Ed]