Half of the best engineers I know come from a random state school, from a random country, and we should work way harder than we do on finding those people.
But also… the other half come from prestigious colleges, and the way you solve the first half is not by not hiring the second half.
Interestingly, Dartmouth, UPenn, and Cornell aren't on the Cancelled Senior Service College (SSC) Fellowships list. So this is some select Ivy Leagues only.
Hegseth has degrees from Princeton and Harvard. The Vice President has a degree from Yale. Trump himself graduated from Wharton, one of the Ivy League business schools (although not one directly names in the memo).
Maybe they are right to block these institutions then?
If this is the quality of product produced what’s the point?
Our Harvard/Stanford etc management seemed less capable than products of state schools. It kind of shocked me as I thought once I got into startups and scaleups with Ivy League talent I’d be way over my head. Very much a let down.
I feel attacked as a Stanford/Princeton graduate. Yes, there are pieces of shit among the graduates, especially among the legacy admissions, but you can’t write off all of us by association.
As someone enrolled in an IVY and seeing the absurd speculation by random commenter's, this is ridiculous.
I can only speak for Columbia, but the amount of work & study we do all for this country is immense. EVEN if you are partisan you should know there are RW or neoliberal elements active here. Our country and the many young people who want to be in public service will suffer from this.
And no, we are not whatever random ragebait curated LW “WOKE” that’s protrayed online.
I've TFed and CAed for SSC fellows eons ago and the fact is UMich (especially the International Institute [0]), VT (CETS [1] and CGIT [2]), ASU (GSI [3] and CAPS [4]), and UNC (ASC [5], ISA [6], CES [7], and TISS [8]) remain great programs and tend to be fairly liberal.
Surprised TAMU wasn't included.
Edit: can't reply
> and lo and behold
Yep, but everyone who's an SSC will self-select for Mich, UNC, ASU, and VT. SSC fellows are smart and are gunning for top exit opps in the public and private sector. Hillsdale, Regent, and Liberty don't offer that and would limit career options as they are deeply ideological programs.
My first reaction was, "watch, they're going to replace actual rigorous educational institutions with religious colleges" and lo and behold, "Liberty University" is at the top of the list for replacement civilian institutions.
> Harvard itself is an incredibly inequitable place. Student organizations — and undergraduate social life more broadly — have been criticized for being stacked heavily against those without connections. And perhaps most insidious is Harvard’s unwavering preference for so-called ALDCs – athletes, legacies, dean’s interest list, and children of faculty and staff. Without dismantling our own elitism, how can Harvard begin to fight the product of it?
Yep. I was never more proud of my alma mater than when they announced they would no longer give preferential treatment to legacy students (students of alumni). Legacy students alone make up 1/3 of Harvard’s accepted students. (I’d say that’s an embarrassment, but for Harvard that’s a feature not a bug.)
The same way people in power will always cling to the advantages power gives them, afraid of starting from the same place as everyone else for fear they won’t make it on their merits alone.
The list of replacements institutions from the memo states at the bottom:
> These institutions meet the following criteria: intellectual freedom, minimal relationships with adversaries, minimal public expressions in opposition of the Department, and Graduate-level National Security, International Affairs, and/or Public Policy Programs.
So it is definitely political and not based on merit.
Then UMich - a notably Dem leaning govt program - wouldn't be included.
Personally, I remember taking Fairbanks Center associated classes and noticing how we have the children of Chinese VVIPs sitting next to active duty members.
It sparked interesting conversations, but seeing someone who was a test pilot at Hanford sitting next to a scion of a Red Family was interesting to say the least.
The program also absolutely did used to publicly give advice to the CCP at the time, and on the listservs I'm still on I do still see publicly pronounced UFWD members responding and posting events in the Boston area.
Ofc, if I noticed this then it was absolutely known to three-letter agencies and State, and some of the institutions included are part of a larger culture war, but there is a kernel of truth - too many children of various countries dignitaries attended the program.
Edit: can't reply
> I think isolationism amongst the war party is less helpful than some degree of interaction
UMich isn't an isolationist program though - it's a program which imo is the closest to how foreign policy was managed under the Obama admin.
You casually drop a lot of acronyms and references to obscure programs (here and especially in parallel comment) on the apparent assumption that everyone reading does or should be clued in to the same acronyms. I feel you do so in good faith, but I wonder where the implicit assumption comes from that the 'rest of society' ('rest' w.r..t. whatever sub-group does in fact know about these programs intimately) ought to know what this sub-group knows.
Noting that we have always been at war with Eurasia, given we actually are not at war with Eurasia, would it not be both normal and sensible to at least know your Eurasian counterparts?
I think isolationism amongst the war party is less helpful than some degree of interaction.
The idiots out there defending this should realize nearly every pronouncement out of the Trump administration is textbook example of “facism lite” (ie how much fascim will the US let the trump administration get away with)
Ie when fascist movement takes power:
Independent institutions are weakened or dismantled. Courts are subordinated to the executive. Regional governments lose autonomy. Legislatures either become rubber stamps or are dissolved. Emergency powers are often invoked and then made permanent.
Second, they eliminate political opposition. Rival parties are banned. Opposition leaders are jailed, exiled, or killed. Trade unions are dissolved or absorbed into state-controlled structures. Elections, if they continue, become symbolic rather than competitive.
Third, they cultivate loyalty to a single leader. The regime builds a personality cult around a figure presented as the embodiment of the nation. Loyalty shifts from constitution and law to the leader personally. Oaths of allegiance are often rewritten to bind military, civil servants, and professionals directly to that individual.
Fourth, they fuse nationalism with identity politics. The state defines a “true people” and casts minorities, dissidents, or outsiders as internal enemies. This often leads to discriminatory laws and, in extreme cases, ethnic cleansing or genocide, as occurred under Adolf Hitler.
Fifth, they control information. Independent media is suppressed or co-opted. Propaganda becomes a primary governing tool. Education systems are reshaped to reinforce ideology. Culture, art, and science are pressured to align with the state narrative.
Sixth, they militarize society. Paramilitary groups are normalized or integrated into state power. Public life adopts martial symbols and rhetoric. Foreign policy often becomes expansionist, framed as reclaiming national greatness.
Seventh, they restructure the economy around state direction and political loyalty. Private property may remain formally intact, but major industries operate in alignment with state priorities. Business leaders who cooperate are rewarded; those who resist are sidelined or punished.
The through-line is loyalty over legality. Institutions stop being neutral frameworks and become instruments of the ruling ideology. The regime reframes dissent as treason and criticism as sabotage.
Half of the best engineers I know come from a random state school, from a random country, and we should work way harder than we do on finding those people.
But also… the other half come from prestigious colleges, and the way you solve the first half is not by not hiring the second half.
Interestingly, Dartmouth, UPenn, and Cornell aren't on the Cancelled Senior Service College (SSC) Fellowships list. So this is some select Ivy Leagues only.
Maybe they like Cornell's existing military affiliation?
Meredith: You know, I once dated a couple of guys from Cornell. They were really nice, gave me a ride home.
Andy: I seriously doubt anyone from Cornell dated you.
Creed: It's pronounced "colonel." It's the highest rank in the military.
Andy: It's pronounced Cornell! It's the highest rank in the Ivy league.
Hegseth has degrees from Princeton and Harvard. The Vice President has a degree from Yale. Trump himself graduated from Wharton, one of the Ivy League business schools (although not one directly names in the memo).
Maybe they are right to block these institutions then?
If this is the quality of product produced what’s the point?
Our Harvard/Stanford etc management seemed less capable than products of state schools. It kind of shocked me as I thought once I got into startups and scaleups with Ivy League talent I’d be way over my head. Very much a let down.
I feel attacked as a Stanford/Princeton graduate. Yes, there are pieces of shit among the graduates, especially among the legacy admissions, but you can’t write off all of us by association.
They network their way to the top. Everybody else has to develop real skills.
As someone enrolled in an IVY and seeing the absurd speculation by random commenter's, this is ridiculous. I can only speak for Columbia, but the amount of work & study we do all for this country is immense. EVEN if you are partisan you should know there are RW or neoliberal elements active here. Our country and the many young people who want to be in public service will suffer from this.
And no, we are not whatever random ragebait curated LW “WOKE” that’s protrayed online.
The actual announcement - https://media.defense.gov/2026/Feb/27/2003881802/-1/-1/1/ALI...
I've TFed and CAed for SSC fellows eons ago and the fact is UMich (especially the International Institute [0]), VT (CETS [1] and CGIT [2]), ASU (GSI [3] and CAPS [4]), and UNC (ASC [5], ISA [6], CES [7], and TISS [8]) remain great programs and tend to be fairly liberal.
Surprised TAMU wasn't included.
Edit: can't reply
> and lo and behold
Yep, but everyone who's an SSC will self-select for Mich, UNC, ASU, and VT. SSC fellows are smart and are gunning for top exit opps in the public and private sector. Hillsdale, Regent, and Liberty don't offer that and would limit career options as they are deeply ideological programs.
[0] - https://ii.umich.edu/ii/about-us/centers-programs.html
[1] - https://liberalarts.vt.edu/research-centers/ceuts.html
[2] - https://www.cgit.vt.edu/index.html
[3] - https://nationalsecurity.asu.edu/
[4] - https://www.capsresearch.org/
[5] - https://africa.unc.edu/
[6] - http://isa.unc.edu/
[7] - https://europe.unc.edu/
[8] - https://tiss-nc.org/
My first reaction was, "watch, they're going to replace actual rigorous educational institutions with religious colleges" and lo and behold, "Liberty University" is at the top of the list for replacement civilian institutions.
Religious schools have long had the strongest cancel culture out there.
Hegseth went to Princeton and Harvard, FYI
https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2026/2/26/langer-harvard-...
> Harvard itself is an incredibly inequitable place. Student organizations — and undergraduate social life more broadly — have been criticized for being stacked heavily against those without connections. And perhaps most insidious is Harvard’s unwavering preference for so-called ALDCs – athletes, legacies, dean’s interest list, and children of faculty and staff. Without dismantling our own elitism, how can Harvard begin to fight the product of it?
Yep. I was never more proud of my alma mater than when they announced they would no longer give preferential treatment to legacy students (students of alumni). Legacy students alone make up 1/3 of Harvard’s accepted students. (I’d say that’s an embarrassment, but for Harvard that’s a feature not a bug.)
The same way people in power will always cling to the advantages power gives them, afraid of starting from the same place as everyone else for fear they won’t make it on their merits alone.
Too much willingness to disobey unlawful orders from the "woke left" I assume
The list of replacements institutions from the memo states at the bottom:
> These institutions meet the following criteria: intellectual freedom, minimal relationships with adversaries, minimal public expressions in opposition of the Department, and Graduate-level National Security, International Affairs, and/or Public Policy Programs.
So it is definitely political and not based on merit.
Then UMich - a notably Dem leaning govt program - wouldn't be included.
Personally, I remember taking Fairbanks Center associated classes and noticing how we have the children of Chinese VVIPs sitting next to active duty members.
It sparked interesting conversations, but seeing someone who was a test pilot at Hanford sitting next to a scion of a Red Family was interesting to say the least.
The program also absolutely did used to publicly give advice to the CCP at the time, and on the listservs I'm still on I do still see publicly pronounced UFWD members responding and posting events in the Boston area.
Ofc, if I noticed this then it was absolutely known to three-letter agencies and State, and some of the institutions included are part of a larger culture war, but there is a kernel of truth - too many children of various countries dignitaries attended the program.
Edit: can't reply
> I think isolationism amongst the war party is less helpful than some degree of interaction
UMich isn't an isolationist program though - it's a program which imo is the closest to how foreign policy was managed under the Obama admin.
You casually drop a lot of acronyms and references to obscure programs (here and especially in parallel comment) on the apparent assumption that everyone reading does or should be clued in to the same acronyms. I feel you do so in good faith, but I wonder where the implicit assumption comes from that the 'rest of society' ('rest' w.r..t. whatever sub-group does in fact know about these programs intimately) ought to know what this sub-group knows.
Noting that we have always been at war with Eurasia, given we actually are not at war with Eurasia, would it not be both normal and sensible to at least know your Eurasian counterparts?
I think isolationism amongst the war party is less helpful than some degree of interaction.
The idiots out there defending this should realize nearly every pronouncement out of the Trump administration is textbook example of “facism lite” (ie how much fascim will the US let the trump administration get away with)
Ie when fascist movement takes power:
Independent institutions are weakened or dismantled. Courts are subordinated to the executive. Regional governments lose autonomy. Legislatures either become rubber stamps or are dissolved. Emergency powers are often invoked and then made permanent.
Second, they eliminate political opposition. Rival parties are banned. Opposition leaders are jailed, exiled, or killed. Trade unions are dissolved or absorbed into state-controlled structures. Elections, if they continue, become symbolic rather than competitive.
Third, they cultivate loyalty to a single leader. The regime builds a personality cult around a figure presented as the embodiment of the nation. Loyalty shifts from constitution and law to the leader personally. Oaths of allegiance are often rewritten to bind military, civil servants, and professionals directly to that individual.
Fourth, they fuse nationalism with identity politics. The state defines a “true people” and casts minorities, dissidents, or outsiders as internal enemies. This often leads to discriminatory laws and, in extreme cases, ethnic cleansing or genocide, as occurred under Adolf Hitler.
Fifth, they control information. Independent media is suppressed or co-opted. Propaganda becomes a primary governing tool. Education systems are reshaped to reinforce ideology. Culture, art, and science are pressured to align with the state narrative.
Sixth, they militarize society. Paramilitary groups are normalized or integrated into state power. Public life adopts martial symbols and rhetoric. Foreign policy often becomes expansionist, framed as reclaiming national greatness.
Seventh, they restructure the economy around state direction and political loyalty. Private property may remain formally intact, but major industries operate in alignment with state priorities. Business leaders who cooperate are rewarded; those who resist are sidelined or punished.
The through-line is loyalty over legality. Institutions stop being neutral frameworks and become instruments of the ruling ideology. The regime reframes dissent as treason and criticism as sabotage.
Did you use AI to write an HN comment?