{"id":177971,"date":"2025-04-16T13:24:12","date_gmt":"2025-04-16T11:24:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=177971"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:27:46","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:27:46","slug":"harvard-doesnt-give-in-to-donald-trump","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2025\/04\/16\/harvard-doesnt-give-in-to-donald-trump\/","title":{"rendered":"Harvard doesn\u2019t give in to Donald Trump"},"content":{"rendered":"

Harvard University rejects the Trump administration’s demands and sees 2.2 billion dollars in federal funds frozen. The university doesn\u2019t want to surrender its independence.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Harvard Hall in New York.<\/span><\/p>

\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDaderot<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

In response to Donald Trump\u2019s anti-science policies, fear seemed to reign supreme amongst American universities until now. Not at Harvard University, however. By refusing<\/a> to give in to the demands, this university is risking the loss of billions of dollars in federal funds.<\/p>\n

The White House only wants to keep paying if it can interfere in the university\u2019s selection process of students, staff and researchers, a letter posted online<\/a> by Harvard reveals. The participation council would also have to give up its power and all of the university\u2019s diversity measures would have to be ended immediately.<\/p>\n

\u2018Antisemitism\u2019<\/h2>

The long list of demands<\/a> makes it clear, says the boss of Harvard,<\/em> that the government has no intention of working together in a \u2018cooperative and constructive manner\u2019 to combat antisemitism at the university.<\/p>\n

This, after all, is the government\u2019s main beef with the universities: allegedly, they\u2019re bastions of antisemitism. It now demands of Harvard that an external party investigate the \u2018ideology\u2019 of a number of faculties.<\/p>\n

Coercion<\/h2>

Trump\u2019s 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<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Two weeks ago, Trump got a similar idea about Harvard. After he finished his lunch, the New York Times writes in a reconstruction<\/a>, the president suddenly wondered: what if we cut off Harvard completely? \u201cWouldn\u2019t that be cool?\u201d Nine billion was at stake at first, but on Monday night, the government decided<\/a> to make it 2.2 billion.<\/p>\n

Intimidation<\/h2>

The rule of law is to protect individuals and organisations from the arbitrary actions of those in power. Consequently, several Harvard professors have announced<\/a> lawsuits against the government. The question is whether Trump will eventually allow himself to be reigned in by judges.<\/p>\n

Another question is whether that matters. After all, Trump\u2019s threats alone can have an effect, as demonstrated by Columbia. In early March, the government warned<\/a> sixty universities they might face measures because of alleged antisemitism on their campuses.<\/p>\n

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<\/a> an anonymous government official in The Times.<\/p>\n

Visa revoked<\/h2>

The government has also revoked over a thousand student visas, according to data<\/a> from Times Higher Education. Some of these students have been known to publicly oppose Israel\u2019s war in Gaza.<\/p>\n

Just last Friday, a local judge gave the government permission<\/a> 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\u2019t make a difference.<\/p>\n\n\t

\n\t\t\n\t\t
\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Read more<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t