Cardinal Courage is a coalition of Stanford alumni and allies, uniting to defend academic freedom, resist political interference, and ensure Stanford leads with courage - not capitulation.
Join a Cardinal Courage working group
Our steering committee is currently looking for people to help shape our work; we would love to have you involved.
Right now we are forming subcommittees on:
Coalition building
Research
Marketing and comms
Event planning
Stanford leadership relations
Organizing, community building, project management
Legal
If you are interested, please fill out this form or email us at info@cardinalcourage.org .
Past actions
Get the Flock out
Get Flock cameras off of campus: Great news; Stanford is getting rid of Flock cameras! Stanford has agreed to replace the privacy-invasive cameras with a different system, after an extensive campaign of pushback by the Safe Stanford coalition, including the Stanford AAUP, ACLU, Tech for Liberation, and 9 other campus and community organizations. The coalition will examine the new system and continue to push against mass surveillance on campus.
To get involved, email us and we will connect you to the coalition. And thank you to all of you who signed the open letter!
OMB Proposed Rule Changes
Thank you for commenting on the proposed changes to the way the federal government awards and administers grants, impacting science. Because of you and other allies, an overwhelming total of 496,805 comments were submitted, largely in opposition to the changes.
Check back here for updates soon.
Protecting students’ privacy
Thank you to everyone who urged Stanford to reject the DOJ request for medical school admissions data.
We still do not know if the university complied, compromised, or resisted the overly broad request for data. Because of your efforts, the Stanford leadership knows we all are paying attention. This issue has helped us find each other to continue supporting Stanford in protecting academic freedom and the safety of its community.
This is part of a broader federal attack on science and higher education. Stanford was just one of several institutions hit with requests for overly broad medical school admissions data, risking applicants’ privacy.
About us
Our Purpose:
Cardinal Courage is a nonpartisan and multi-generational coalition of Stanford University alumni and allies (faculty, staff, students, neighbors and more) dedicated to supporting and mobilizing Stanford in championing academic freedom, civil liberties, and democratic principles. We recognize that academic freedom is foundational to a healthy democracy and the well-being of humankind.
Our work is rooted in deep respect for Stanford's historic role in fostering innovation and well-being both domestically and internationally.
Our Mission, values, and principles
Cardinal Courage is alarmed by the growing attacks, especially from the federal government, against institutions of higher learning. We are also distressed by the readiness of some universities to give in to arbitrary demands from the government, which compromise academic freedom, constitutional rights, and the mission of higher education.
We stand with the entire Stanford community in refusing to compromise on the autonomy of higher education and academic freedom. In this critical and challenging time for universities, we demand that Stanford leads with courage, not capitulation.
The values and principles outlined below represent our shared convictions. We affirm our dedication to these ideals and pledge to advance them through our collective efforts.
Courage, not Capitulation: we expect Stanford to be stalwart in the defense of academic freedom, civil liberties, and the constitutional rights for all faculty, associated scholars, students, staff and others at the university.
Protect the international faculty and student community whose scholarly excellence is vital to maintaining Stanford’s status as a premier research university.
Protect research and free inquiry at Stanford from arbitrary and politically motivated attacks including federal funding cuts, department restrictions, and topical restrictions.
Celebrate diversity and equity as a core belief in the creation of good citizens.
Fight back against any interference to the core mission of higher education - “to create and share knowledge and prepare students to be curious, to think critically, and contribute to the world.”
Strength through solidarity: standing with alumni and partners at every university in the defense of academic freedom and cross-university solidarity.