Harvard University has positioned itself as the “face of opposition ” against what some contend is an over-reaching Trump presidency, which demanded the Ivy League organization apply sweeping changes to its admissions, hiring and education policies and procedures to be eligible for billions of dollars in federal money.
On Monday school officials filed a lawsuit “to end the funding ice because it is unconstitutional and beyond the government’s power, ” Harvard President Alan Garber announced.
Calling the administration ’s reform demands “illegal, ” Garber stated it is trying to threaten and strong-arm the school into compliance by adding to an initial freeze of$ 2. 2 billion in funding an additional$ 1 billion. He also cited the presidency ’s danger to not let the school to engage foreign students, and its advice that the government would drag Harvard’s tax-exempt position.
“These deeds have stark real-life effects for individuals, students, faculty, staff, experts, and the status of American higher education in the world, ” Garber stated. “…The effects of the government’s excess will be serious and long-lasting. ”
The 51-page complaint argues Trump officials have not identified “any logical connection between antisemitism concerns and the physician, medical, scientific, and additional research it has frozen that aims to save American lives, develop National success, preserve American security, and maintain America’s position as a global leader in innovation. ”
“… Under whatever name, the State has ceased the movement of cash to Harvard as part of its force campaign to pressure Harvard to send to the Government’s power over its educational programs. ”
“That, in itself, violates Harvard’s constitutional rights, ” the complaint argues. “ But the Government has also failed to engage in the statutorily mandated process Congress required under Title VI before funds are cut off, which provides independent grounds for declaring
the freeze unlawful. ”
The so-called demand letter, dated April 11, called for a variety of reforms such as governance and leadership reforms to reduce “the power held by faculty ( whether tenured or untenured ) and administrators more committed to activism than scholarship, ” as well as to reduce forms of “governance bloat. ”
It also stated Harvard “must immediately shutter all diversity, equity, and inclusion ( DEI ) programs, offices, committees, positions, and initiatives, under whatever name, and stop all DEI-based policies, including DEI-based disciplinary or speech control policies. ”
The letter also called for merit-based reforms in admissions and hiring practices, including “international admissions reform … to prevent admitting students hostile to the American values and institutions inscribed in the U. S. Constitution and Declaration of Independence, including students supportive of terrorism or anti-Semitism. ”
The April 11 letter reportedly took a more aggressive stance than some the Trump administration wanted and was allegedly sent in error and without authorization, the New York Times reported.
The letter was penned by members of a new Trump panel called the Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism, The Wall Street Journal reported.
“People close to Harvard say the task force is now escalating the fight to protect its own reputation. The government’s demand letter to Harvard received blowback after the university released it, including from some on the right who publicly said it was overreach, ” the Journal reported.
“Harvard’s Monday release of the letter positioned the university as a face of resistance against the Trump administration and has presented the task force with a playbook far different than Columbia’s, which quickly agreed to their demands to try to recover$ 400 million in federal funding, ” it reported.
MORE: Feds warn Harvard may lose ability to enroll international students
IMAGE CAPTION AND CREDIT: Pictures of Harvard’s campus and President Donald Trump / montage created with various YouTube screenshots
Like The College Fix on Facebook / Follow us on Twitter
