'Huzzah!' say faculty, students as Harvard stands up to Donald Trump

What Donald Trump is doing to the universities in the United States is not very different from what is being done in India.

Unlike American universities, most Indian universities do not have endowments to sustain them and depend entirely on government grants. Yet, there are in India rules to abide by and red lines not to be crossed on matters of academics, admissions and the appointment of vice-chancellors and faculty — all of which are being breached by the government here.

The following editorial, published in The Harvard Crimson points to collective action and the kind of resistance that universities across the world can put up to authoritarian rulers:

‘In an email to affiliates, the university announced it will not give in to the Trump administration’s expanded demands. Mere hours later, in a blatant act of retaliation, . Harvard’s decision to stand in defence of the academic project against the Trump administration’s attacks is noble. As the White House attempts to decimate American higher education, we hope other universities will join ours in fortifying it.”

"The federal government is picking off democratic institutions at all levels of American life one by one. Harvard’s brave choice to stand by the academic project should be a blueprint for the rest of civil society to follow." https://t.co/i0KBul1kam

— Fareed Zakaria (@FareedZakaria) April 16, 2025

The editorial continues, to say that when the Trump government’s initial letter arrived on Harvard’s doorstep a week ago, it was immediately clear that the demands — from calls to entirely to implementing “merit based admissions” — had nothing to do with genuinely fighting anti-Semitism and everything to do with stripping away Harvard’s autonomy.

The new Trump letter, debuted in university president Alan M. Garber’s email to the community, somehow went even further.

On top of the original demands, the Trump administration brands whole academic units as potential bastions of anti-Semitism in need of supervision, including the entirety of Harvard Medical School, Harvard Divinity School, the Harvard School of Public Health, and many others.

The letter goes on to demand “viewpoint diversity” at Harvard in admissions and faculty hiring, down to every “teaching unit” — an odd paradox given the anti-DEI drive of the Trump administration.

Notwithstanding the infeasibility of gauging political opinions in a college application, is a roomful of math professors expected to be half liberal and half conservative? Are environmental research institutes expected to host climate change deniers?

Such questions only scratch the surface of Trump’s list, which also included an apparent political litmus test for international applicants and comprehensive federal oversight of the University through at least 2028.

As university president Alan M. Garber made clear in his message to affiliates, ceding to these demands would do more than please the POTUS.

“It would strip fundamental autonomy away from our country’s most storied institution and irrevocably alter the landscape of higher education,” he said.

“No government—regardless of which party is in power—should dictate what private universities can teach, whom they can admit and hire, and which areas of study and inquiry they can pursue.” - President Alan Garber https://t.co/6cQQpcJVTd

— Harvard University (@Harvard) April 14, 2025

Undeniably, the impending funding cuts will bring serious, short-term pain for Harvard students, faculty and staff, not to mention hampering the advancement of human knowledge, he said.

But to acquiescence to Trump’s demands would have had even graver, lasting consequences — not just for Harvard, but for higher education and American society as a whole.

“The federal government is picking off democratic institutions at all levels of American life one by one. Harvard’s brave choice to stand by the academic project should be a blueprint for the rest of civil society to follow,” continues the Harvard Crimson editorial.

“Time and time again, we have called for Harvard to find its voice and lead America’s universities...

“Now, the institution has answered the call.

“The student reaction was overwhelming and immediate.

“At a school often derided for a lack of spirit, Harvard today experienced a moment of intense unity.

Higher education needed a champion, and we are proud Harvard has decided to rise to the occasion.

“In the face of Trump’s assault on higher education, silence has spoken volumes — we’ve seen elite institutions buckling under the pressure of the federal government’s barrage of funding cuts and threats to academic freedom.

“All the while, calls to action have been plenty: students, faculty, legislators, governors, and even past University presidents have demanded that Harvard stand up to Trump. These stakeholders, too, understood the necessity of such resistance for the sake of both academic freedom at Harvard and our democracy at large.

“As one of the most distinguished universities in the world — and the oldest in the United States — Harvard has a unique capacity and responsibility to lead the fight against Republicans attempting to infringe upon our independence.

“But Harvard cannot stand alone.

“The University’s decision to hold the banner must galvanise peer institutions to resist Trump’s attacks — a form of collective action we have called for before.”

The university will not surrender its independence or relinquish its constitutional rights. Neither Harvard nor any other private university can allow itself to be taken over by the federal government. https://t.co/5k5t9RYYC2

— Harvard University (@Harvard) April 14, 2025

Meanwhile, hanging over Harvard’s collective head is the Damocles’ sword brandished by homeland security (DHS). It has threatened to revoke Harvard University’s ability to enrol foreign students if it failed to provide by 30 April records on its ’ “illegal and violent” activities.

It has also cancelled another USD 2.7 million worth of grants, and has proposed the revocation of the university’s ‘tax exempt’ status over its “radical ideology”.

‘DHS secretary Kristi Noem announced the cancellation of two DHS grants totalling over USD 2.7 million to Harvard University, declaring it unfit to be entrusted with taxpayer dollars,’ the DHS said in a statement on Wednesday, 16 April.

With PTI inputs