In response to Donald Trump’s anti-science policies, fear seemed to reign supreme amongst American universities until now. Not at Harvard University, however. By refusing to give in to the demands, this university is risking the loss of billions of dollars in federal funds.
The White House only wants to keep paying if it can interfere in the university’s selection process of students, staff and researchers, a letter posted online by Harvard reveals. The participation council would also have to give up its power and all of the university’s diversity measures would have to be ended immediately.
‘Antisemitism’
The long list of demands makes it clear, says the boss of Harvard, that the government has no intention of working together in a ‘cooperative and constructive manner’ to combat antisemitism at the university.
This, after all, is the government’s main beef with the universities: allegedly, they’re bastions of antisemitism. It now demands of Harvard that an external party investigate the ‘ideology’ of a number of faculties.
Coercion
Trump’s approach to universities is similar to the trade war he started recently: first announce tough measures and then wait for the afflicted party to come begging for a deal. For example, Trump threatened to cut Columbia University by 400 million dollars. That university quickly gave in and puts itself under far-reaching government oversight.
Two weeks ago, Trump got a similar idea about Harvard. After he finished his lunch, the New York Times writes in a reconstruction, the president suddenly wondered: what if we cut off Harvard completely? “Wouldn’t that be cool?” Nine billion was at stake at first, but on Monday night, the government decided to make it 2.2 billion.
Intimidation
The rule of law is to protect individuals and organisations from the arbitrary actions of those in power. Consequently, several Harvard professors have announced lawsuits against the government. The question is whether Trump will eventually allow himself to be reigned in by judges.
Another question is whether that matters. After all, Trump’s threats alone can have an effect, as demonstrated by Columbia. In early March, the government warned sixty universities they might face measures because of alleged antisemitism on their campuses.
An example has now been made of Harvard, the richest and oldest university in the US. If Harvard gives in, the other institutions might be more easily intimidated, says an anonymous government official in The Times.
Visa revoked
The government has also revoked over a thousand student visas, according to data from Times Higher Education. Some of these students have been known to publicly oppose Israel’s war in Gaza.
Just last Friday, a local judge gave the government permission to deport pro-Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil, a student at Columbia University. His lawyers are appealing the ruling. In court, they showed that their client had spoken out against antisemitism on several occasions, but this apparently didn’t make a difference.
