As someone who spent many years in higher education and watched its takeover and decline, it has been the sad part of my life to experience the loss of classical education.
The public universities exist in their current state ONLY because the public and lawmakers allow them to do so. Academic Freedom has nothing to do with what is occurring within the universities today.
I have 5 kids all at pretty good high cost schools Johns Hopkins, Bucknell, Lafayette. I think its not worth the money. I got a Jesuit education. But I think that’s gone now in most places. School can be good if its job based. But concept of a classical education. In most places gone is philosophy, rhetoric, logic, ethics. Critical thinking has been replaced with an agenda. And my money has been used for a new workout room.