If civil rights violations are ongoing and those violations are functions of deep-seated corruption, the Trump administration is within its rights to compel Harvard to change its ways or forfeit its federal support.
The Trump administration and the leadership of Harvard University are both posturing as principled heroes taking a stand against an unscrupulous enemy. The federal government has appointed a task force to combat anti-Semitism, the most apparent manifestation of corruption at progressive-captured institutions, most notably elite universities. The task force came down hard against Columbia and now claims to be rooting out bigotry and discrimination at one of our nation’s most storied universities with a wide-ranging set of demands. Recent reporting indicates that it may not have intended to raise its voice as loudly as it were, and issued demands before they were fully developed and calibrated. We may never know whether that is an attempt to backtrack or a true story.
Harvard, for its part, has roared back. A well-polished web page showcases its valuable work, smartly if predictably emphasizing its scientific achievements and ongoing projects. Its leadership denounced the Trump administration’s meddling in its internal affairs, which Harvard considers violations of academic freedom and the spirit of open inquiry for which it strives. While Harvard admits that anti-Semitism and other forms of discrimination – including a hostile campus atmosphere for Israelis and Israeli-Americans, which would be unlawful – persist on campus, it insists it is doing its best to deal with the problem. The government should leave it alone, period: “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,” Harvard President Alan Garber wrote on April 14. “The work of addressing our shortcomings, fulfilling our commitments, and embodying our values is ours to define and undertake as a community.” A week later, Harvard announced its lawsuit against the Trump administration for what it argues are violations of several laws protecting universities from sudden, onerous, and procedurally irregular government action.
Continue reading the entire piece here at Civitas Institute
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Tal Fortgang is an adjunct fellow at the Manhattan Institute. He was a 2023 Sapir Fellow.
Photo by Sophie Park/Getty Images
