‘Will Not Surrender’: Harvard Scoffs at Trump Admin’s Demands to Address Antisemitism

Harvard University announced Monday it will not agree to the Trump administration’s demands to address antisemitism on campus.

The Department of Education sent a letter to the Ivy League school April 11 demanding the school agree to a host of reforms, including adjusting and enforcing disciplinary processes, improving screening of international students for “hostile” views, and auditing “programs with egregious records of antisemitism.” Harvard cited academic freedom concerns and free speech rights in its announcement rejecting the Department of Education’s demands.

“We have informed the administration through our legal counsel that we will not accept their proposed agreement,” Harvard President Alan Garber wrote in the announcement. “The University will not surrender its independence or relinquish its constitutional rights.”

The Department of Education, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the General Services Administration initiated in late March a review of more than $8.7 billion worth of grants to Harvard after a September investigation by the House Committee on Education and the Workforce found that “Harvard failed” to discipline students who engaged in antisemitic campus protests. Harvard demonstrators disrupted classes, occupied a campus building, and set up a multiday encampment.

At the time of the committee’s investigation, none of the 68 students referred for discipline action regarding their role in the spring semester encampment were suspended. (Read more from “‘Will Not Surrender’: Harvard Scoffs at Trump Admin’s Demands to Address Antisemitism” HERE)

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