Dear Students

and Alums

Dear Students and Alumni,

Over the decades I’ve had the deep privilege of teaching well over 1,200 Penn State landscape architecture and allied students—domestic and international, graduate and undergraduate. While I doubt I could recall all of your names (LinkedIn helps), I fondly remember your faces, personalities and course work. And I hope you remember your time with me on campus, on field trips, and abroad as one of principled mentoring and some encouragement and inspiration. My simple wish was always that each of you would go on to do good work and enjoy life.

I've always thought professors should be able to profess. And I trust you remember us faculty as fair and welcoming to students from all walks of life, guiding you to imbue your strategies and designs with life, health, beauty, resilience, and accessibility to all. Until recently, these precepts mostly straddled political lines, so we felt safe, even obliged, to articulate them. Per Penn State policy, my opinions are my own.

Disturbingly, faculty are now being told not to freely voice what we know to be right and good, from our disciplinary perspectives. Administrators, staff and students feel threated too, each in their ways. In red states and the Ivy League, the situation is especially acute. In fact, the anti-intellectual miasma that has permeated Trumpist conservatism is impacting the whole of the academy.

Thirty years ago, astronomer Carl Sagan warned of a “combustable mixture of ignorance and power.” Today, academic freedom (there are many definitions) remains an essential condition in speaking truth to power in free societies.

Clearly, the United States is in crisis. Its democracy is imperiled; human rights are being trampled; natural systems, landscapes and places maligned; progress on sustainability reversed; well-documented histories on racism erased... None of this makes America great again.

Now at arm's length from campus, I feel fortunate (and a bit guilty) to be on the outside looking in. But with the crisis in our democracy deepening, we risk much when we shy away from our First Amendment voices. So I’ll use this space to highlight some linked ideas and concerns. I’ll also edit as new issues arise and better clarity is afforded.

To you, my wonderful students past and present: I hope these words resonate. Below you may recognize some first principles, like those that guided our studio work, but now expanded to encompass larger and more politically-charged themes.

I encourage you to look for underlying causes and motives during this era of socio-political turbulence. Think critically; embrace complexity and nuance as you strive for clearer understanding. Reject black-and-white (dichotomous) thinking. Trust your creativity and ability to bring things together, to heal.

Then take action as moral, ethical and creative human beings in a hurting world.

Imagine, 1,200 of you could be a powerful force for good!

__________

On Humankind, the Oppressed and the Occupied. I believe in the inherent dignity and right to life, liberty and happiness of each human being. We must acknowledge and strive to remedy the dreadful legacies of colonialism, totalitarianism, ethnic cleansing, and politics of purity, as well as the everyday depravities of racism, classism, misogyny, bigotry, and prejudice.

I stand with those who continue to carry the particular burdens of slavery's legacy. I support the NAACP's call for long overdue reparations. The Trump bureaucracy's erasure and whitewashing of American history is wrong and disgraceful.

I support First Nations and Indigenous People as they strive for recognition, justice and reparation. The UN's Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples is shown here.

I acknowledge that central Pennsylvania, where I live, is the ancestral home and crossroads of the Erie, Haudenosaunee, Lenape, Shawnee, Susquehannock, and Wahzhazhe Nations.

Further afield, I hope that all individuals and nations with a conscience will stand with Ukraine and make their support both heard and tangible. Putin, Trump and their ilk will be judged harshly by history.

And I stand with those people of Gaza, Syria, Sudan, the Sahal and other places who are innocent, oppressed, fearful and hungry. They need our help, no strings attached. I call on all members of the United Nations to get past the rhetoric and leap to action.

FInally, diversity, inclusion, equity, justice, and empathy are simple, universal goals that decent human beings try to live by. Our professional organizations (CELA, ASLA, CSLA, IFLA) all uphold them.

On the 47th President. The current president is a felon with no moral compass. He doesn't negotiate; he manipulates, threatens and retaliates. This is Machiavellianism on global display.

Donald Trump is utterly shameless. Forensic psychiatrist Bandi Lee calls it contagious psychosis. In parallel, political psychologists see his delusional self-image as precisely the thing that appeals to his fans. His grandiosity, skewed values, lying as a go-to response, transactional relationships, sadism, zero-sum us-or-them world view, capricious and impulsive actions, cruelty-as-pleasure, delight in retribution, etc.—all build from his distorted and toxic sense of self. His followers feed off his power; judgment is distorted and impulsiveness is lauded.

These traits lead him, his billionaire buddies, and his cowering Republic sycophants to spew false histories, disinformation and hate, driving an ever deeper wedge into an unsustainably polarized American public. They sound like populists but are, in fact, sadopopulists. They care nothing for the working class. They gaslight, proselytize, and deflect.

Today, he rules with brutality alongside a corporate monarchy (on display at his inauguration) blending reactionary and radical right beliefs. He and his subordinates pummel the American people and the global community with incessant lying and randomly chaotic decisions, while retribution against challengers is swift and merciless. Absolute fidelity from associates and confidents is mandatory—a hallmark of fascism.

Unless the judiciary holds firm, all three branches of U.S. government seem ready to transition into a functional plutocracy, where key decisions are made by the super-rich.

Fascism is at our bedside.

Resistance is urgent.

Silence is a white flag.

For upcoming peaceful protests, see Fighting Oligarchy Tour, No Kings, 50501, Build Resistance, and others like them. Also, know your rights.

On U.S. Expansionism. Trump's push to annex nearby sovereign states and seize foreign resources is right out of the playbooks of the Third Reich and the Kremlin, in open defiance of international and U.S. law. The current regime's imperialistic aggressions against Canada, Mexico, Greenland, Panama, Ukraine and others are obscenely disrespectful and unlawful.

I'm especially appalled at Trump's threats of forced annexation of a sovereign Canada. He decries Canada's NATO contribution, but conveniently ignores Canada as the primary source of cheap resources that have bolstered U.S. and NATO military machinery for decades.

Trump's irrational demands for things that he wants but aren't his to take remind us of the classic schoolyard bully with the frail ego and lust for power. He's envious of Canada's strengths (quality of life, abundant resources, strategic geography) while despising its robust social diversity, relatively good governance, and wide esteem globally.

Trump's lecherous grasping at good neighbors has ruined what has long been one of the world's most steadfast and honorable friendships. Canadians will never agree to annexation by an external force, and they are already showing prowess at forming trustworthy allies elsewhere.

On U.S. Tariffs. Trump's tariffs are based on falsehoods and wild distortions of the facts—particularly in Canada's case. Fentanyl and illegal immigration from Canada into the U.S. are a non-issue; in fact, the 'leakage' of drugs, guns, and migrants into Canada from the U.S. is the actual, serious problem.

Trump's tariffs are illegal under international law (WHO's General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, to which the U.S. is a signatory). Drugs and immigration at the U.S.-Canada border are a false pretexts; there is no national emergency between the two countries:

Trump lied about the U.S.-Canada trade deficit, his figures range from $250B to $100B. In fact, the 2024 deficit with Canada in goods and services trade was $35.7 billion.
Trump's executive order under the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act is illegal. The tariffs break the USMCA trade agreement that he himself signed with Canada and Mexico in 2020.
The tariffs un-constitutionally bypass Congress which enacted the agreement in the first place.
In real life, tariffs lay waste to the highly productive and stable North American free trade region. The ripple effect will be global and harmful to millions of people at home and abroad.

Tariffs on this magnitude ruin human lives; they are simply an economic form of terrorism.

Further, Trump intentionally distorts the good that can come from strategic deficits (as any economist knows). For example, powered by abundant hydro-electric power, Canada makes economical and sustainably produced primary aluminum. U.S. manufacturers eagerly buy a lot, hire workers, make a wide range of products (incl. military), and sell at a profit. In fact, cheap and reliable Canadian materials help drive U.S. manufacturing. And Trump's goal of onshoring aluminum is folly; Quebec's and BC's hydro-electric capacity make them the natural focus of aluminum production. The claim of "subsidizing Canada" is simply more resentment politics and bullying on a global scale.

Considering all this, I support Canada's justified response of counter-tariffs, along with a broad international boycott on American products and services. I also encourage domestic travelers to favor blue states, and international travelers to choose non-U.S. destinations until unjust tariffs (and the oligarchy behind them) are dismantled.

For boycotts, see Boycott Central, Tesla Takedown, Red State Boycott, Buy Beaver and Made in Canada (both Canadian), and Buy European.

False White Gospel, et al. U.S. Christian nationalists' central and venomous role in D.C.'s inner sanctum denies a humble, contextual and accurate reading of the New Testament. The New Apostolic Reformation (NAR), the Claremont Institute, and fans of dominion theology lead the threats to our pluralistic democracy. Stephanie McCrummen, Silvester Beaman, Tim Whittaker, Jemar Tisby, Kristen Kobes du Mez, Zach Hunt, and Matthew Taylor offer insights.

The rise of American fascism isn't a solely Christian Nationalist project. The Dark Enlightenment movement and the Tech Right have also emerged as key players in what has become a uniquely American (and unholy) triade.

Human-induced climate change is real. It threatens humanity and biodiversity around the world—especially in poorer and at-risk countries with less ability to adapt. Richer industrialized countries are most culpable and must lead in reducing greenhouse gasses and globally addressing worsening climate change impacts.

Trump is crushing American climate policy, such as it was. I condemn his short-sightedness and greed (both his own, and on behalf of Big Oil). I continue to support the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNCCC). I urge all nations to participate fully in the Paris Agreement, as amended.

To avert the worst impacts of climate change, the United Nations' IPCC Report on the Earth’s climate system calls for a global warming cap at 1.5 degrees Celsius. MIT's Center for Sustainability Science and Strategy states that to achieve that goal, the planet’s total greenhouse gas emissions will need to decline to net-zero by 2050.

Trump's devious approach to climate change science is to silence the scientists and the policy-makers, thus worsening an already globally existential problem.

I urge you, students and alumni, to follow the science on such issues. ASLA, CSLA, and IFLA are all committed to climate change-responsive professional practice. Want to be involved as a concerned layperson? Join Citizen's Climate Lobby or support Earth Justice's environmental lawyers.

Biodiversity decline, pollution, habitat destruction and environmental injustice foisted on marginalized communities—none of these should be part of the cost of doing business. Trump's and EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin's record on these issues is horrendous, and getting worse each passing week. Their lack of foresight and compassion threaten the most vulnerable communities and ecosystems.

The science is clear. When we diminish biodiversity and environmental integrity, we threaten the health and well-being of current and future humanity. Since these vast and interrelated problems are caused largely by humans, we have a moral obligation to reverse the trend. On climate change, the IUCN's declaration, "Saving Species Saves Lives" is well worth the read. One activist-scientist I've long admired is David Suzuki. Finally, support the Natural Resources Defence Council (NRDC) and Earth Justice if these issues resonate with you.

Sustainable Development. I support the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), shown here. There are lots of sources online supporting sustainable and green business, such as this Springer journal and on ASLA's and CELA's websites.

Trump vs. American Universities. American universities have been incubators for discovery, culture, cures, intellectual pluralism, critical thought, and democracy for well over two centuries. Our universities take the pulse on the human condition and keep watch on the horizons of the human story.

On-going assaults by the Trump regime and red state legislatures have de-funded important research, packed boards of trustees and upper administrations with slash-and-burn lackeys, and reversed academic freedom. These unprecedented attacks are a form of educational authoritarianism and scholasticide that totalitarian regimes use to suppress and re-cast knowledge to suit their ultra-right wing agendas.

Yale's Jason Stanley said, “There are no liberal arts colleges in authoritarian countries. So, if you’re transitioning to authoritarianism, you have to target colleges and universities, as well as education. As Vladimir Putin recently said, wars are won by teachers.”

To You Eligible Voters who didn't vote last November, the world needs leaders with vision and integrity more than ever. Please show up for the mid-term elections on November 3, 2026. (For more information and to register to vote, see here.)

For all of us who didn't vote Republican, and for those who are starting to wish they hadn't as well: let's keep the hope, stay strong, and help those here and abroad—however we can—who are hurt by the actions of the current regime.

__________

In solidarity.

🇨🇦 🇺🇦 🇲🇽 🇵🇦 🇩🇰 🇬🇱 🇧🇷 🇵🇷 🇱🇸

🏳️‍🌈 🏳️‍⚧️

Other Voices

On Trump's weaponizing of the U.S. presidency through retribution—

“This is the greatest pressure put on intellectual life since the McCarthy era. And I think it’ll be seen in the future, as that time was seen, as a time when people either stood up for their values or ran in fear of the federal government.”

M. Roth, 2025

President, Wesleyan University

“...revenge has long been essential to the Trump brand. Long before he ran for president, Trump said, 'Always get even. When somebody screws you, you screw them back in spades.' This idea is immoral. Most adults agree that two wrongs don’t make a right. The world’s religious and philosophical traditions counsel against revenge.”

A. Fiala, 2024