Harvard University has rejected demands from the Administration of US President Donald Trump, ostensibly aimed at combating anti-Semitism.
Reuters reports this.
The schoolʼs leadership believes that agreeing to the new rules would mean handing control of Harvard over to a conservative government that views the university as "dangerously radical left". After the institutionʼs refusal, the Trump administration announced a freeze on federal funding for the university worth $2.3 billion.
In March, Washington said it was reviewing $9 billion in federal contracts and grants for Harvard as part of a crackdown on alleged anti-Semitism, a sentiment that has been fueled by pro-Palestinian student protests over the past year and a half.
The US Department of Educationʼs task force on combating anti-Semitism accused the nationʼs oldest university of "a disturbing sense of permissiveness common to Americaʼs most prestigious educational institutions" and "a belief that federal funding does not obligate them to comply with civil rights laws".
The agency added that Harvard “does not meet the intellectual and human rights criteria that justify federal investment”. It demanded that the institution limit the influence of staff and students who are “more committed to activism than to scholarship” and create an external committee to review each faculty for “diversity of views”.
By August, the university was ordered to hire faculty and admit students “solely on merit”, without regard to race, color, or national origin. The university was required to screen international students for “hostility to American values” and to report any violations of the rules to immigration authorities.
Harvard President Alan Garber said in an open letter that the Department of Educationʼs demands would allow the government to "control the Harvard community" and threaten "the values of a private institution dedicated to the pursuit, creation, and dissemination of knowledge".
"No government — regardless of party affiliation — should determine what private universities teach, who they admit or hire, and what areas of research they choose," Garber said.
- In November 2023, more than 1 600 Jewish alumni stopped donating to Harvard University due to anti-Semitism at rallies in support of Palestine.
- In January 2024, Harvard President Claudine Gay resigned amid allegations of plagiarism and a lackluster response to anti-Semitism at the institution.
- That same month, several Jewish students filed a lawsuit against the institution, accusing it of tolerating harassment, assault, and intimidation of students of Jewish origin.
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