常春藤盟校比賽日 為反川普統一陣線

In the hours before the 141st meeting of the Harvard and Yale football teams Saturday, a vast tailgate party sprung to life across grassy fields on the Yale University campus. Students and alumni dressed in Harvard crimson and Yale blue played cornhole, devoured bagels and swilled Pabst Blue Ribbon.

在哈佛與耶魯第141次美式足球對決開賽前的幾個小時，耶魯大學校園的草地上熱鬧展開大型後車廂派對。身穿哈佛深紅與耶魯藍的學生與校友玩投沙包、吃著貝果，暢飲藍帶啤酒。

Sticking out only slightly were Regina Schwartz, a Harvard alum, who was dressed as a turkey (an informal Harvard mascot); and Erica Newland, who graduated from Yale and its law school, cosplaying as a Yale bulldog.

打扮成哈佛大學非正式吉祥物火雞的哈佛校友施瓦茨，及打扮成耶魯大學鬥牛犬、畢業於耶魯大學和耶魯法學院的校友紐蘭德，稍稍引起人們注意。

Their mission amid the revelry: Persuading partying football fans to “stand firm against attacks” on higher education, as their handouts said.

她們在這場熱鬧派對中的任務，是力求說服球迷「堅定反擊對高等教育的攻擊」，正如她們在宣傳單上所寫的。

The tailgate evangelists from the two schools set traditional rivalries aside for the first Harvard-Yale football game since the Trump administration embarked on its campaign to remake American higher education and strike deals with schools that accept the White House’s priorities.

兩校在派對現場奔走的倡議志工，暫時放下傳統對立。這是川普政府開始重塑美國高等教育、並且與接受白宮優先事項的校方洽談協議以來，首場哈佛—耶魯足球賽。

The groups — “Crimson Courage” and “Stand Up for Yale” — co-sponsored a party tent at the tailgate, under a banner reading “Foes on the Field, Allies for Academic Freedom.” They collected signatures on a petition urging leaders of both schools to reject agreements with the Trump administration that would bring the government’s hand into running universities.

哈佛大學校友組織「緋紅勇氣」和耶魯大學校友組織「捍衛耶魯」在後車廂派對共同設置一頂帳篷，懸掛「球場上的敵人，學術自由的盟友」橫幅。他們請願，蒐集連署，敦促兩校領導層拒絕與川普政府達成使政府能干預大學運作的任何協議。

Though Yale has so far largely avoided the scrutiny and sanctions from the Trump administration that other schools have experienced, Newland said all universities are stronger if they present a united front.

儘管耶魯至今大致避開了川普政府施加在其他校院上的審查與制裁，紐蘭德表示，只要團結一致，所有大學都會更強大。

Of course, Harvard and Yale are within the Ivy League bubble, separated by their enormous wealth and influence, which could make it difficult for them to persuade other schools to risk a loss of federal funding to stick up for universities that seem to have every advantage.

當然，哈佛與耶魯身處常春藤體系的「泡泡」裡，擁有龐大財力與影響力，這也讓其他學校難以被說服，願意冒失去聯邦經費的風險替看似一切資源充足的名校仗義執言。

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., was the celebrity ringer for the petition campaign. A graduate of Harvard in 1967 and Yale Law School in 1973, Blumenthal acknowledged that cooperation is not a natural state for schools in perpetual competition for grant money, staff members and students.

康乃狄克州民主黨籍聯邦參議員布魯門索是這場連署活動的明星代言人。他分別於1967年、1973年畢業於哈佛大學與耶魯法學院。他坦言，在為研究經費、師資與學生持續競爭的環境下，合作並非各校的自然狀態。

Many college administrators are also inclined to keep their heads down when others face pressure.

許多大學管理階層在他校面臨壓力時，也多傾向低調行事。

“There’s real fear,” Blumenthal said. “I’ve urged them — there is strength in numbers.”

布魯門索表示：「人們的恐懼確實存在。我力勸他們—眾志成城。」

Blumenthal proffered postcards and stickers. “No Yale stickers,” one Harvard man said. He was for academic freedom, but some lines could not be crossed on game day.

布魯門索分發明信片和貼紙。1名哈佛人表示，「不貼耶魯貼紙」。他支持學術自由，但在比賽日，有些界線是不能跨越的。

As for the game, Yale upset Harvard, 45-28.

至於比賽，耶魯以45比28氣走哈佛。

高電費與帳單 促使共和黨選民倒戈

As loyal Republicans, Reece Payton said that he and his family of cattle ranchers in Hogansville, Georgia, had one thing on their minds when they cast their ballots in November for the state’s utility board — “to make a statement.”

身為忠誠的共和黨員，裴頓和住在喬治亞州霍根斯維爾、經營牧場的家人11月投票選舉該州公營事業委員會成員時，心中只有一個想法：要表明立場。

They were already irked by their escalating electric bills. But after they heard a data center might be built next to their Logos Ranch, they had enough of Republicans who seemed far too receptive to the interests of the booming artificial intelligence industry.

他們早已因為不斷攀升的電費而感到惱火。但在聽說可能會在他們的洛格斯牧場旁邊建造一座數據中心之後，他們對共和黨徹底失去耐心，因為這些人似乎過於迎合蓬勃發展的人工智慧產業的利益。

“That’s the first time I ever voted Democrat,” Payton, 58, said.

58歲的裴頓表示：「那是我生平第一次投給民主黨。」

Message sent.

訊息已清楚傳達。

In some of Georgia’s reddest and most rural counties, Republicans crossed party lines in November and helped propel two Democrats, Peter Hubbard and Alicia Johnson, to landslide upsets, ousting the incumbent candidates on the Georgia Public Service Commission. No Democrat has served on the five-person commission, which regulates utilities and helps set climate and energy policy, since 2007.

喬治亞州一些共和黨勢力最強、最偏鄉的郡，共和黨選民在11月跨黨投票，協助2名民主黨哈伯德和強森獲得壓倒性勝利，擊敗現任委員。自2007年以來，再也沒有民主黨人於這個由5人組成、負責監管公共事業並協助制訂氣候和能源政策的委員會任職。

Across the country, Democrats have seized on rising anxiety over electricity costs and data centers in what could be a template for the 2026 midterm elections.

放眼全美，民主黨正利用選民對電費與數據中心擴張的憂慮，打造一套可能成為2026年期中選舉操作模式的策略。

In Virginia, Gov.-elect Abigail Spanberger pledged during her campaign to lower energy bills and make data centers pay more.

在維吉尼亞州，州長當選人史班伯格競選期間承諾，降低能源帳單費用並要求數據中心負擔更多成本。

In New Jersey, Gov.-elect Mikie Sherrill promised to declare a state of emergency on utility costs and freeze rates. And in Memphis, Tennessee, state Rep. Justin J. Pearson, who is challenging Rep. Steve Cohen in a high-profile Democratic primary next year, has vowed to fight a supercomputer by Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company, xAI, that would be located in a predominantly Black neighborhood.

在新澤西州，州長當選人謝里爾承諾將宣布公營事業費用緊急狀態，並凍結費率。而在田納西州曼菲斯，州眾議員皮爾森誓言要對抗馬斯克人工智慧公司xAI在以非裔為主的社區興建超級電腦。他將在明年備受矚目的民主黨初選挑戰現任眾議員柯恩。

Strong opposition by citizens forced the Tucson City Council in August to pull the plug on an Amazon data center slated for that Arizona city, and then in September forced Google to call off one in Indianapolis.

由於民眾強烈反對，迫使亞利桑納州圖森市議會8月終止亞馬遜興建數據中心的計畫，又在9月迫使谷歌中止在印第安納波利斯興建數據中心的計畫。

“Electricity is the new price of eggs,” said Charles Hua, executive director of Powerlines, a nonpartisan organization that aims to modernize utility regulations and reduce power bills. “This is a defining moment for politicians of all stripes — what’s your answer to lowering utility bills? Because I think consumers and voters are looking for leadership on this.”

致力於改革公營事業監管、降低電費的無黨派組織Powerlines執行董事華氏表示：「電價不只是費用，而是政治、經濟問題、以及民怨的來源。這是各路政治人物的關鍵時刻—如何回應選民對降電費的需求？我認為消費者與選民正在等待有人展現領導力。」