
On Monday, Harvard University sued US President Donald Trump’s administration to halt the freezing of $2.3bn in federal funding for the institution. The funding freeze came amid US government efforts to crack down on student protesters and pressure universities into dropping diversity, equity and inclusion programmes.
On March 10, the US Department of Education announced it had sent letters to 60 higher education institutions, warning them of “enforcement actions” if they did not protect Jewish students on campus as stipulated in the Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. The letters also quoted Secretary of Education Linda McMahon saying, “US colleges and universities benefit from enormous public investments funded by US taxpayers. That support is a privilege and it is contingent on scrupulous adherence to federal anti-discrimination laws.”