At the time I’m writing this, the Trump administration has terminated the visas of six international students at UNC-Chapel Hill. Six more at UNC Charlotte. Three at Duke University. Two at North Carolina State University.

All in all, more than 650 student visas have been revoked nationwide, according to a database maintained by Inside Higher Ed. The ability of those students to remain in the country and finish their education is now deeply threatened. Some have been told to leave immediately.

It’s a disturbing and dystopian development, which the Trump administration has framed vaguely as a move to crack down on antisemitism and criminal activity. But it’s unclear whether the affected students are guilty of either, and many schools say they have been given no reason for the terminations or even notified of them directly. Yet these universities have largely remained silent in the face of Trump’s bullying rather than stand up for their students and their academic freedom.

I contacted several North Carolina universities where student visas have been revoked to ask how they are handling these developments and whether they see any cause for alarm. The answers were unimpressive. UNC Media Relations told me its International Student and Scholars Services department is available to answer questions and refer students to resources. NC State Media Relations told me “NC State continues to monitor these developments and address individual cases as appropriate.” But none of their responses mentioned plans to push back against the federal government.

One can imagine that choice is a practical one. Trump has led universities into believing that the threat he poses to them is unstoppable. He wants to scare them into submission. He’s threatened to defund them over ideological disagreements. He’s already slashed funding that fuels life-saving research at many universities and launched investigations into others over their diversity and inclusion efforts.

In a way, they’re doing what they think is in the best interest of the institution. But that choice is still a choice, and it’s a cowardly one. These universities are not powerless, and the choices they are making send a message to the community that their schools won’t defend or protect them from a force that no single student or faculty member can fight on their own.

Trump’s crackdown on colleges and universities hangs on a key premise, however: that the institutions he is fighting can’t and won’t fight back against him. But what if they did?

This is not the first time the Trump administration has threatened higher education, and it certainly won’t be the last. Universities shouldn’t delude themselves into thinking that their silence now will buy immunity later. Backing down won’t bring an end to the intimidation — it will only embolden it. There is no way to appease Trump, because he will keep asking for more.

Not convinced? Just look at how far it’s come already. Trump originally campaigned on a promise to deport international students involved in pro-Palestinian protests, and his quest to deliver on that promise began by detaining some prominent student activists. But in recent weeks, he’s taken that a step further, and his administration is now revoking visas of students with no protest involvement or criminal record whatsoever, according to reports.

The silence of these universities now simply conveys their capitulation. If they let Trump walk all over them now, there’s nothing stopping him from going even further later. How far will he have to go before they try to stop him? He’s already threatened their students, their research and their principles. It doesn’t get much more existential than that.

There are some university leaders who have been willing to take a stand. The dean of Georgetown Law rebuffed warnings from a top federal prosecutor trying to intimidate him into ending his school’s DEI efforts. The president of Princeton University has also refused to make concessions to Trump. Of course, these leaders do come from private institutions who are wealthy enough to afford the political fight. But public universities still have power, even more so if they choose to fight together.

This is a moment that demands courage. Universities need to start showing it.

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Paige Masten is the deputy opinion editor for The Charlotte Observer.

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