Regardless of whether it receives government financing or not, Harvard University has stated that it would not comply with US President Donald Trump’s demands. In a statement published on the university’s website, Harvard President Alan Garber stated that no government should control what private colleges can teach regardless of the party in power.
Shortly after Harvard rejected the White House’s extensive set of requests, which included guidelines for hiring, teaching, and governance, the Trump administration halted $2.2 billion (£1.7 billion) in government funding for the university.
Many students and alumni praised the university’s resolve to maintain its position in spite of the repercussions. Alumnus and former President Barack Obama hailed Harvard as “an example for other higher-ed institutions” and referred to Trump’s action as “ham-handed.
The education department criticised Harvard for their “troubling entitlement mindset that is endemic in our nation’s most prestigious universities and colleges – that federal investment does not come with the responsibility to uphold civil rights laws” after the university rejected the government’s demands. The struggle for the upper hand in the Harvard case might be the first shot in a war of attrition between the federal government and higher education, with billions at stake.
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