A coalition of groups at Harvard urged the university to reject striking a deal with the Trump administration that would relinquish “the university’s autonomy in unconstitutional or unlawful ways.”
The letter, signed by more than 14,000 Harvard alumni, students, faculty and members of the public, comes as the school is at the negotiating table with the Trump administration. The university is trying to restore the billions of dollars in research funds that the Trump administration has frozen and put an end to attacks on several other fronts.
“A settlement with the Trump administration will have a chilling effect on the Harvard community and on all of higher education,” stated the letter, sent by Crimson Courage, a new alumni group that formed to defend academic freedom. It was addressed to Alan M. Garber, the university’s president, and the board that governs the university.
The government has targeted top universities, claiming that they have failed to protect Jewish students from antisemitism and allowed diversity programming to flourish. It has cut off or frozen research money, forcing universities to negotiate to turn the funding tap back on.
Several universities recently struck agreements with the Trump administration that could inform the terms of the negotiations.
Columbia University signed a deal that included more than $200 million in payment to the government in exchange for the restoration of more than $400 million in grants that were terminated or frozen by the Trump administration. Brown University agreed to pay $50 million to state work-force development programs along with other demands to restore frozen funding. The University of Pennsylvania also recently struck a deal that limits how transgender athletes can participate in sports.
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The post Thousands Ask Harvard Not to ‘Give in’ and Pay Fine to Trump appeared first on New York Times.
