Image of Harvard University – Eliot House. Photo available via Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0
On April 21, Harvard University filed a lawsuit against the Trump Administration after receiving a five page document of demands. Harvard accuses Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Linda M. McMahon, Stephen Ehikian, Attorney General Pamela J. Bondi and several other administration officials of ignoring the First Amendment to restrict Harvard.
The Lead-Up
In the beginning of April, Harvard and the Trump Administration communicated how to combat anti-semitsim. It started off with a request to ban masks, which is used during protests. The government sent Harvard a five page document of demands of changes in operations, admissions, hiring, faculty and student life. Harvard said no in less than 72 hours.
“No government — regardless of which party is in power — should dictate what private universities can teach, whom they can admit and hire, and which areas of study and inquiry they can pursue,” Harvard’s president, Alan M. Garber said in an open letter.
Wanted changes to the faculty’s power, recruitment and admissions became a concern for Harvard. Any programs related to diversity, equity and inclusion needed to be stopped. The government wanted a report until the end of 2028 on these requirements being met.
Frozen Funding
Government officials have freezed more than $2.2 million of federal funding, with a possibility of $7 billion more. Currently, $1 billion in research funding from the National Institutes of Health is on the way to be frozen. This is almost half of Harvard’s budget from federal research grants.
“The gravy train of federal assistance to institutions like Harvard, which enrich their grossly overpaid bureaucrats with tax dollars from struggling American families is coming to an end,” a White House spokesman, Harrison Fields said in a statement.
Garber chose to cut his pay by 25% due to the loss of funding, starting on July 1. The university has temporarily stopped hiring and suspended raises for employees as well.
On May 5, the Department of Education announced in a letter that Harvard will receive no new federal research grants until the demands are met. Education Secretary, Linda McMahon, accused the school of enrolling foreign students that contempt the U.S..
“Where do many of these ‘students’ come from, who are they, how do they get into Harvard, or even into our country—and why is there so much HATE?” McMahon said on X.
The university responded by correcting spelling and grammar mistakes in the letter on social media. Social media users followed, claiming that Harvard succeeded.
Harvard’s Lawsuit
The administration continues to claim that Harvard and other schools are allowing anti-semitsic language and harassment on their campuses.
“Harvard’s failure to protect students on campus from anti-Semitic discrimination — all while promoting divisive ideologies over free inquiry — has put its reputation in serious jeopardy,” McMahon said in a release.
Harvard argues that there is no connection between antisemitism and the medical, science and technological research conducted on campus. Cuts have already been made in labs, departments, hospitals and classrooms due to the lack of federal funding.
“Before taking punitive action, the law requires that the federal government engage with us about the ways we are fighting and will continue to fight antisemitism. Instead, the government’s April 11 demands seek to control whom we hire and what we teach,” Garber said in a statement.
Support from Students and Faculty
Appreciation from Harvard, the president of American Council on Education and other large universities gained attraction at the start of the lawsuit. Ryan Enos, a science political professor, wrote a letter supporting the decision to sue. The letter ended up being signed by 800 faculty members.
“Harvard’s decision to sue should be a larger signal not just to education but civil society that what the Trump administration is doing is unlawful,” Enos said.
A student at Harvard, Lorenzo Ruiz, claimed that the school spirit and pride shown in the school’s annual football game against Yale is how enthusiastic students are.
“The university has really managed to tap into and inspire not only the support of students, but a massive segment of the nation that is deeply concerned by federal meddling,” Ruiz said.
