They came for Mahmoud Khalil. They came for Mohsen Mahdawi. They will come for you too. Your silence and complicity will not protect you. The Trump administration has openly declared war on our colleges and universities, continuing the conservative dream to destroy higher education as we know it. Across the country, academics are finding it impossible to ignore what has happened to their educational institutions. Funding has been slashed, their students are being detained, and their campuses are filled with police officers. New policies are developed, surveillance cameras are installed, campus gates are closed, and federal agents monitor student social media.

Although my experiences pale in comparison to Palestinians in Gaza and Palestinians living under occupation in the West Bank, I cannot help but think about the shared willingness by those in power to destroy centers of knowledge. Historically, facism and authoritarian regimes have targeted educational institutions and symbols of knowledge, from book burnings to firing professors. We are seeing the latest embodiment of modern day facism on our colleges and universities. Students across the country have taken action, and now it’s time for faculty to follow their lead. The instinct for many in academia, including tenured professors, is to keep your head down in a de facto state of functional freeze: avoid talking out of turn and stay focused on your research—if you still have funding that is. Academia as a profession after all, is not the vanguard of revolution, it is the site of eloquent statements and dinner parties. But meeting the moment means escaping your comfort zone. If you cannot speak when your students are being abducted by masked men in unmarked vehicles, when will you speak up?

The Trump administration is not above detaining faculty members. They are not above detaining American citizens. They are not above detaining you and the people you care about. It does not matter what your accolades are or what your CV looks like—all of academia is under attack. Meeting this moment in time requires genuine solidarity with your community. It means speaking truth to power, even if your voice shakes and moving as a unit to make collective decisions. It means putting your body on the line to protect those who cannot. It means sharing your time with vulnerable students and community members. It means building networks of care, pooling together resources, and looking after everyone, beyond your department. We have to be brave because there is no other option.