Earlier this week, former President Barack Obama applauded Harvard University for standing up to the Trump administration. Unlike Columbia University, which has swiftly fallen in line and agreed to implement various policies demanded by President Donald Trump in exchange for the restoration of $400 million in federal grants, Harvard is prepared to fight back.
"We have informed the administration through our legal counsel that we will not accept their proposed agreement," said Harvard President Alan Garber. "The University will not surrender its independence or relinquish its constitutional rights."
The Trump administration had demanded changes to university curriculum, the elimination of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) provisions, the prevention of masked protesting, and other changes ostensibly aimed at countering antisemitism on campus. Opponents of these policies, civil libertarians and free speech groups among them, counter that the federal government's threat to withhold funding is a violation of Harvard's First Amendment rights.
