Hegseth’s crusade against “woke” education has arrived. The Secretary of Defense announced he is stripping military funding from several Ivy League and elite universities, accusing them of poisoning the military with a “curriculum of contempt.” While schools like Columbia, Harvard, and Yale are officially banned from graduate tuition assistance, Cornell has somehow managed to dodge the initial round of cuts. The decision to spare the Big Red is raising eyebrows, especially after Cornell paid a massive $60 million settlement to the Trump administration just last November. That deal, which ended federal investigations into campus “bias” and DEI programs, seems to have bought the university a temporary reprieve from the MAGA movement’s war on higher education. Many students see this as a clear sign that the administration is willing to pay up and play nice to avoid the “anti-American” label being slapped on our peers. While Cornell continues to lean on its status as a Purple Heart University to justify its cozy relationship with the Pentagon, the broader message is clear. The administration’s move to redirect partnerships toward conservative schools like Liberty University proves this isn’t about education—it’s about political loyalty. Undergraduates and ROTC students may be safe for now, but the university’s independence feels increasingly like it’s been sold to the highest bidder.