A powerful student-led movement is gaining momentum across American campuses, arguing that the nation's elite universities have failed in their civic duty. Yet, unlike the scorched-earth political attacks from figures like Donald Trump, this group seeks not to destroy higher education, but to fundamentally transform it from within.
From Disillusionment to a National Movement
The grassroots network, called Class Action, was born in 2023 in the wake of the US Supreme Court's landmark ruling against affirmative action. Its founders, including recent Stanford graduate Ryan Cieslikowski, were driven by a growing disillusionment with the promise of elite institutions. They observed a system that funnelled brilliant graduates into high-finance and consulting roles, while doing little to bridge the deep societal divides it often exacerbates.
Emily Hettinger, a Yale senior and co-chair of a major conference for the group, encapsulates this internal conflict. She recalls joining a campus protest to defend higher education from federal attacks, while simultaneously grappling with Yale's own elitism and disconnection from its local community in Connecticut. "I wanted to defend higher education, but I didn't want to defend it in its current form," Hettinger explained.
Charting a 'Third Way' Forward
Class Action positions itself as a critical yet constructive force, offering a progressive alternative to both the status quo and the politically motivated assaults on academia. In November 2025, the group convened a "Reimagining Elite Higher Education" conference at Yale University, drawing some 300 participants from dozens of campuses nationwide.
The centrepiece of their work is a draft "academic social contract," a document obtained by the Guardian, which serves as a roadmap for reform. It declares that elite universities stand at a crossroads: they can remain "citadels of privilege" or help "kindle a renaissance" in higher education by aligning their vast wealth and prestige with the public good.
"What's hard about this moment is that there seems to be a binary of choices – either support Trump and tear down universities or support the status quo," said Hettinger. "What if there's a third option... where we can be critical of universities but also defend them and build something better?"
Targeting Elitism and 'Career Funnelling'
The group's activism is already yielding tangible results. Its first nationwide campaign contributed to California's decision in 2024 to ban 'legacy' admissions for children of alumni and donors, though some private universities opted to forfeit state funding to maintain the practice. Similar campaigns are underway in Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts.
Class Action also tackles what it calls "career funneling" – the channeling of students towards a narrow set of lucrative corporate careers in tech, finance, and consulting. At Amherst College in Massachusetts, student lobbying inspired by the group successfully pushed the administration to diversify career services to better support those pursuing public interest work.
Professor Evan Mandery, an author and adviser to Class Action, argues that the alienation fostered by elite institutions has created fertile ground for anti-elite sentiment. "If you grow up in rural Appalachia... why should you trust elites?" he said, noting that the rare student who makes it to an Ivy League school rarely returns, instead becoming an investment banker. "It just fuels this massive divide."
The group has grown rapidly from a dozen campuses to having worked with students on 76 campuses, with formal chapters now being established. It consciously strives to build a broad coalition, finding common ground on issues like legacy admissions and free speech, and welcoming members with diverse political views who agree reform is necessary.
As Trump's administration renews its focus on reshaping universities, Class Action believes the crisis presents a unique opportunity. "When everything is up in the air, and nobody agrees, that's the time to bring everybody to the table," said Cieslikowski. Their goal is to steer these powerful institutions toward becoming better stewards of democracy, truly serving the interests of all Americans.
