As the US president escalates his attacks on the university, his Board of Directors has decided to fight. The administrators have discussed whether they would appeal to justice or seek negotiations as early as March, when Trump started his attacks on the university.
But as the president launched a “fire” – withdrawing federal billions of federal funds, threatening to lift the tax regime and attempting to ban international students – Harvard remained in place.
By Friday, the university had filed two lawsuits against the federal government, the most recent to regain the right to register international students. Trump shows no intention of receding. “Harvard should change its way of operation,” he said from the Oval Office.
While Harvard is looking for a solution in the courts, teachers and administrators are planning ways to deal with a long crisis that threatens to radically change the Foundation’s physiognomy -.
The damage is already obvious. The government has multiple tools to press the university financially. ‘Federal actions have caused changes that will not
Cuts, redundancies and new sources of funding
Funding is not expected to return to previous levels, even if Harvard wins. Special committees are studying staff reorganization and ways to continue research. The University School of Public Health has already made layoffs, has reduced the number of postgraduate students and has cut operating expenses.
To cover part of the lost research funds, the university will allocate an additional $ 250 million. Rector himself, Alan Garber, will receive a reduction in salary 25
The university is in a deadlock. As Law Professor Aziz Huq notes, “he cannot trust the Trump government or rely on a prolonged judicial dispute.”
This conflict is not just Harvard. It is a redefinition of higher education in the US, with the roots of the system falling into World War II. Now, this model is attacked by a conservatives of the MAGA movement, who consider universities to be a home of liberal ideology and must be raised.
The government cites the need to combat anti -Semitism at universities, on the occasion of a pro -Palestinian protests that erupted after the Gaza war. He accuses Harvard of failing to protect Jewish students and at the same time targets initiatives for diversity and equality, which he considers discreet.
The latest action was the revocation of certification that allows Harvard to accept international students with a student visa.
The letter-copy of DHS
On April 16, Interior Security Minister Christie Noem sent a letter requesting eight specific information for all visa students, including: rights violations, criminal activity or danger. If it did not comply within 10 business days, Harvard would lose the right to register for foreign students.
The university responded with thousands of pages of documents on April 30. On the same day, Trump said Harvard “not worth” state funding, saying that “students, teachers and their attitude are not American.”
Trump threatened through social networks by deducting Harvard’s tax regime. The Minister of Education, Linda McMaon, sent him a letter saying that he would not apply for federal grants – because he was not going to receive any.
On May 7, a DHS lawyer rejected some of the data given, asking for more details. Harvard responded with reports of three students with crushes such as alcohol consumption.
The final rupture and the effects
A week later, the government announced the immediate revocation of the right to register for international students. “It shouldn’t be surprised,” Nohem wrote. The decision is a message to all universities that “the Trump government will enforce the law and uproot anti -Americanism and anti -Semitism”. The DHS gave Harvard 72 hours for new information.
“Without foreign students, we are not Harvard”
In his lawsuit, Harvard argues that the consequences will be devastating. “International students are a key element of the University – they direct workshops, teach, research and fight in sports teams.”
About 25% of students are international – and an even greater percentage in the Schools of Administration, Public Health and Politics.
At the same time, a judge granted temporary protection, but the case remains open. A White House spokesman said: “No non -elected judge has the right to stop the legal implementation of the government’s immigration policy.”
Jang Kaii, a first -year postgraduate student at Harvard Public Health School, had bought a ticket to China when he learned that the registration of foreign students was being blocked. He canceled his plans, fearing he would not be able to return to the US.
“I had already prepared clothes, computer, gifts for the family,” he says. He spent awake on Thursday night. The provisional court ruling has relieved him – but his future remains uncertain.
