Pursuing Trump, brandishing a flamethrower, amid library chaos
President Trump Takes Aim at Harvard, Alleging Bias and Misconduct
In a significant move, President Donald Trump's administration is targeting Harvard University, the oldest and most prestigious education institution in the United States. The White House is seeking to assume control of the Ivy League university, criticizing its policies and financial practices.
The educational war is witnessing a dramatic chapter with Harvard under attack. The White House is intent on regulating the university from multiple angles, impacting various sources of income for the private institution. Harvard is responding strenuously to this intervention.
Harvard's annual budget stands at $6.5 billion. Around 11% of this income comes from federal grants for research that the government aims to eliminate entirely, and international student tuition could also be affected. The university estimates that the White House's measures would shrink its total income by approximately 20%. Harvard asserts that these measures constitute a "vendetta campaign," insisting on its right to independently shape its curriculum, operations, and campus.
Last week, US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem threatened to ban international students from Harvard, setting a short deadline for data collection. However, Harvard sued, asserting that this would cause "sudden and irreparable harm" to the university. Trump's administration, however, remains unfazed, acknowledging the 30-day appeal period, and announces new restrictions: student visa interviews at US embassies worldwide have been suspended, with closer scrutiny of social media profiles for applicants and the possible denial or revocation of visas for pro-Palestinian and Chinese students for political reasons.
The White House had accused Harvard of tolerating anti-Semitic activities in April, making far-reaching demands in response. These included handing over all data on international students and their protest activities for the past five years. Harvard complied, but the government deemed the data insufficient and intensified its pressure. International students make up 27% of Harvard's student body.
The US government's demands extend beyond this, aiming to supervise Harvard "at least until the end of 2028," as stated in its April letter. Harvard is expected to share all future changes with the government, which will then "thoroughly scrutinize" their implementation during this period. The university must abolish all equality programs and adjust student enrollment and staff appointments accordingly. It should not entertain foreign students deemed "enemies of American values," and must swiftly denounce any misconduct by such students. By year-end, Harvard must assess "opinion diversity" across its entire operation, hiring teaching staff and enrolling students in "critical mass" in all programs if not present. The university must also establish an anonymous tip-line for students to report violations to the government.
Parallel to this, the US government threatens to revoke Harvard's tax-exempt status for educational institutions, citing hidden donations from foreign sources and governments. Harvard denies these allegations, claiming transparency. The accusations against Harvard range from antisemitism and terrorism, to freedom of speech and civil rights violations, to "systematic law-breaking." While these accusations are not elaborated upon, they can be inferred from other statements.
One of the accusations from Trump's government is that whites are being discriminated against. By employing the anti-Semitism allegation, the government plays with the history of racism in the US, portraying its predominantly white electorate as victims. Universities, therefore, are accused of discriminating against whites under the guise of equal opportunity laws, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, although this was primarily introduced to combat racism against blacks.
Trump's government's actions suggest that it targets universities for their ideological leanings. Harvard is not the only university facing such scrutiny. Trump's administration accuses over 60 colleges across the US of anti-Semitism, threatening investigations and withdrawal of financial research support. In 2023, these schools received a total of approximately $23 billion in public funds, representing more than a third of the funds distributed to universities nationwide. The White House aims to establish a conservative counterbalance to the perceived liberal tilt at universities.
US Vice President JD Vance, a Yale University graduate, labelled his university's faculty as "totalitarian" in 2021 due to the absence of conservatives. He simultaneously argued that the liberal faculty constitutes an oligarchy, indoctrinating students and silencing dissent. Sending children to universities where they are indoctrinated and incur debt to achieve a middle-class lifestyle, Vance contended, is absurd. "It's about power," Vance explained. The White House is now confronting this power with full force.
Conservatives are underrepresented in academia, but the government's demands raise questions about how Trump's commission envisions its changes in practice. Potential ideas range from ideological screening of students, teachers, and faculty, to the creation of a MAGA quota, or the implementation of content control in curricula. The White House's actions, while justified in promoting open discussions, risk resemblance to an authoritarian state rather than fostering diversity of thought. The demand itself appears compromised, as Harvard is indeed not a haven for open discussions, according to an independent national survey of 257 universities. However, Trump is seemingly bent on eliminating ideological tendencies among students and faculty, invoking images of him marching into libraries with a flamethrower.
The extent to which efforts to amplify conservative voices can go is shown by the example of the US Naval Academy. The Navy recently removed around 400 books from its library, owing to their failure to align with Trump's edicts ending government-wide diversity, equity, and inclusion measures. Many anti-racist works, or simply those about "non-white, cisgender heterosexual men," were among them, as quoted by a book trade representative in the "New York Times." "Mein Kampf" remains available. Whether educational practices at the Naval Academy can be equated with those at civilian universities is debatable, as the focus on professional development differs from academic education. Nevertheless, the ideological rift is evident, with Trump pushing for conservative views to be heard amidst growing opposition.
The Commission, chaired by President Donald Trump, has been tasked not only with investigating alleged bias and misconduct at Harvard University but also with submitting a proposal for a directive on the protection of students from the risks related to exposure to ideological extremism in education-and-self-development. As politics and general news continue to unfold, the future of academic freedom is being questioned, with potential implications for the protection of workers' rights in higher education institutions.
