The Canary at Northwestern University

I ran into the DEI “buzzsaw” at my alma matter in October 2022. As a former trustee (1998-2018), I spent a year trying to get NU to mend its ways. But the new leaders – President, Provost, General Councel – ignored me. Even board chair Peter Barris – who I have known since 1999 – ignored me.

My cancellation sent me on a tour of discovery, learning about the roots of “social justice”, “critical theory”, DEI, …all stemming from the “long march through the institutions” kicked off by Marcuse and his disciples in the 1960s. I realized I was simply the “canary in the coal mine.”

I went public with my story in October 2023, and Prof. Abbot reposted it here -- collecting dozens of comments ranging from supportive to shocked to flabbergasted. Still, no change at Northwestern.

After the Trump Administration announced the freeze of Federal funding to Columbia University and Harvard University, I took the opportunity to send the email below to several dozen Northwestern trustees and faculty members who I had spent quality time with during my years as a trustee.

I received one supportive phone call from a faculty member, but not a single reply to my email.

Nine days later: https://www.cnn.com/2025/04/09/us/cornell-northwestern-federal-funding-freeze/index.html

I contributed over 7,000 volunteer hours and over $7M to Northwestern University over the past five decades. I hosted new student parties at my home near Seattle for 14 years, I met 1-on-1 with over 200 faculty members, I met 1-on-1 with over 400 students who reached out to me for advice on social media. So, I was the perfect person to cancel: if NU can cancel a high-profile alumnus like me, that sends a very strong message to every other member of the NU community: keep quiet and keep your head down! My friends who survived the USSR or the “Cultural Revolution” in China know how that works.

The leaders of Northwestern had an opportunity back in 2022 to engage with me and begin a journey back to traditional American values, including free speech, merit, and viewpoint diversity. A process they could have pursued with integrity and vigor.

Instead, they demonstrated their cowardice and lack of a moral compass by allowing the cancer of DEI to continue to destroy the learning environment, the mental health of students, and the integrity of the research enterprise. I continue to hear from NU faculty and students who are afraid to speak up on campus.

The NU campus response to the horrible events of October 7^th in Israel shone a bright light on the evil “oppressor/oppressed” philosophy that is at the heart of DEI.

The efforts of the Trump Administration to eliminate DEI root and branch from Northwestern and other similarly-afflicted schools appear to be the only viable way to restore American values to institutions of “higher” education in America.

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From: Benjamin Slivka
Sent: Monday, March 31, 2025 6:06 PM
To: …
Subject: Principles That Should Stand at The Foundation of Universities, Sergiu Klainerman, 2025-03-30
Importance: High

Dear Current and Former NU Trustees & Leaders,

With Trump’s executive order banning DEI, and his moves to stop Federal funding of Columbia and now Harvard, it is time for NU leadership to wake up to the evil that has been wrought by “social justice”, “critical [race] theory”, DEI, and Wokeism.

Below is a post from yesterday by the distinguished Princeton mathematician Sergiu Klainerman, who does an excellent job of analyzing the state of Wokeism in academia and proposing remedies. [Prof. Klainerman was born in 1950 to a Jewish family in Romania, so experienced Marxist/Leninst culture firsthand. He emigrated to America in 1975, joined the Princeton faculty in 1987, was awarded the MacArthur Fellowship in 1991, and has earned numerous other honors.]

If NU would abolish the entire DEI apparatus and make a clear, short statement in support of free speech, that would be a major improvement. Of course, NU leadership must then follow up to remove all the DEI tendrils that have wound their way throughout the university since the late 1960s (as documented in https://benslivka.com/2023/08/18/americas-cultural-revolution/).

I *still* have not received an apology for the absurd way I was cancelled by NU in November 2022. As I wrote in https://hxstem.substack.com/p/northwestern-cancels-former-trustee, my key concern is not how absurdly and unfairly I was treated, but rather the *harm* NU is doing to students by teaching them three great falsehoods described in the 2018 book www.theCoddling.com: 1) words are violence, 2) your feelings are the most important thing, and 3) people are either all good or all evil.

My over 7,000 volunteer hours, my 20 years of service on the board of trustees (1998-2018), and my over $7M dollars in donations – including to build Slivka Hall and Lisa’s Café – make me an *ideal* target to cancel. Other NU alumni and community members will observe: “wow, if they can do that to such a committed high-profile alumnus, I better keep my head down and go with the Woke flow.” This kind of cancellation was a very common and powerful tool used in the USSR and (especially) during the “Cultural Revolution” (1966-1976) in China.

If NU takes swift, concrete steps to root out DEI/Wokeism and move quick back toward free speech and free inquiry, that will be a major improvement for the environment on campus for students, faculty, staff, and alumni.

If not, I expect the Federal Government will eventually set its sights on NU Federal funding in the manner in which it has already targeted Columbia and Harvard.

I would be happy to chat with anyone in NU leadership about how NU can take a U-turn away from its Marxist/Leninist journey and get back to core traditional American values. Heck, you could even invite me to re-join the board to lead this effort.

Yours Sincerely,

--Ben Slivka