Harvard, the 388-year-old prestigious Ivy League university, is currently in the spotlight for standing up against the Trump administration. On April 3rd, 2025, the Trump administration issued a letter to the university that contained a list of demands, such as getting rid of DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) programs, acquiring policies that consider race, religion, and gender, banning certain student groups, and taking stronger action against antisemitism. The Trump administration threatened to freeze the $9 billion Harvard receives annually in research funding if they did not comply with these demands. However, Harvard did not adhere to these orders and refused to implement them in their university, saying that the demands listed endangered academic freedom and free speech. As a result, the Trump administration froze over $2.2 billion, following through with their threat of cutting the full $9 billion.
The letter sent by the Trump administration did not come out of nowhere; the conflict between Israel and Palestine has caused tensions in many U.S. universities. Many student groups have held protests and sit-ins defending Palestine, causing political conflict. Pro-Palestinian activism within these universities has made statements that many say fall into antisemitism, crossing the boundary between criticism and hate speech. Due to this, Jewish students and leaders have accused these institutions of allowing anti-Semitic speech and failing to protect Jewish students. The accused anti-Semitism on campuses gained lots of publicity and political backlash. The government, including the Trump administration, pressured universities to show less tolerance to antisemitism.
Another reason this letter was sent was because of the court case in June 2023, Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard, ruled that universities like Harvard factored race into their admission decisions. Despite this case having been closed 2 years ago, the Trump administration believed that these institutions were still using gender, race, and religion as factors in who they did and didn’t accept.
An additional cause for these demands being sent was the Trump administration’s dislike of DEI programs. DEI programs are efforts within organizations that aim to ensure fair treatment and encourage all individuals’ participation, especially those who historically originate from disadvantaged communities. An example of a DEI program would be scholarships designed for students from underrepresented backgrounds. The Trump administration has criticized DEI programs, claiming that they divide students and focus too much on “identity politics.” Because of their low regard for DEI programs, the Trump administration has gone against Harvard, as the university has one of the most well-funded DEI programs within higher education. Despite this, Harvard is still aiming to hire and maintain a diverse student body and faculty with the help of programs focused on inclusivity, equality, and diversity.
Although the disagreements focus only on the Trump administration and Harvard, this matter goes beyond the university. Instead, Harvard, a prestigious and well-known college, has been used as a symbol target by Trump’s team to call out higher education’s “woke culture” and insert government influence over universities’ policies. This is a big deal because it demonstrates how the federal government is crossing the line in trying to exert federal authority over educational institutions. Many say that what the government is trying to do is unconstitutional, restricting academic freedom and universities’ ability to self-govern.
As a response to the conflict, Harvard has decided to sue the Trump Administration. The University argues that the demands asked of the institution and the use of funding as leverage violated Harvard’s rights under the First Amendment of the Constitution. Their reasoning is that the government has violated their academic independence by attempting to force Harvard to implement policies by using money to pressure the university into complying, a clear effort to control how the college functions. Intimidating Harvard into allowing federal control over the university by adding the demands listed in the letter directly violates Harvard’s right to freedom of speech and academic freedom. The institution also argues that the threat to freeze billions of dollars used for research is unconstitutional, attempting to tie funding to compliance. This lawsuit is an effort to not only prevent the university itself from having restrictions on freedom of thought with the threat of funding, but it is also an effort to protect the broader topic of where the line between educational dictatorship and government suggestion in education is crossed.
