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CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- Harvard University is holding its commencement Thursday astatine a pivotal moment, erstwhile its spot arsenic 1 of the world's starring higher acquisition institutions is nether what progressively seems similar existential threats from the Trump administration.
Other schools look the nonaccomplishment of national backing and their quality to enroll planetary students if they don't hold to the Trump administration's shifting demands. But Harvard, which was founded successful 1636, a period and a fractional earlier the federation itself, is taking the pb connected defying the White House successful national tribunal — and paying a important price.
The Trump administration’s latest salvos see asking national agencies to cancel astir $100 cardinal successful contracts with the Ivy League school. The authorities already canceled much than $2.6 cardinal successful national probe grants, moved to chopped disconnected Harvard’s enrollment of planetary students and threatened its tax-exempt status.
Visa interviews for planetary students admitted to schools nationwide were halted connected Tuesday, and Trump said Wednesday that Harvard should trim its planetary enrollment from 25% to astir 15%.
Sustained by a $53 cardinal endowment, the nation’s oldest and wealthiest assemblage is investigating whether it tin beryllium a bulwark against Trump’s efforts to bounds what it calls antisemitic activism connected campus, which Harvard sees arsenic an affront to the state to thatch and larn nationwide.
The Trump medication has demanded Harvard enact wide authorities and enactment reforms and changes to its admissions policies. It besides demanded the assemblage audit views of diverseness connected field and halt recognizing immoderate pupil clubs.
Dr. Abraham Verghese, the bestselling writer and Stanford adept connected infectious diseases, volition beryllium the main talker astatine the university's 374th commencement. On Wednesday, NBA Hall of Famer and activistic Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was the “Class Day” speaker, and writer Christiane Amanpour addressed graduates of Harvard's Kennedy School.
Both praised Harvard for lasting up to the Trump administration, with Abdul-Jabbar specifically calling retired the actions of Harvard President Alan Garber.
“When a tyrannical medication tried to bully and endanger Harvard, to revoke their world state and to destruct escaped speech, Dr. Alan Garber rejected the amerciable and immoral pressures,” Abdul-Jabbar said to wide applause arsenic helium compared Garber's effect to Rosa Parks' basal against racist segregation.
“After seeing truthful galore cowering billionaires, media moguls, instrumentality firms, politicians and different universities crook their genu to an medication that is systematically strip-mining the U.S. Constitution, it is inspiring to maine to spot Harvard University instrumentality a basal for freedom," helium continued.
In effect to the administration's threats, Harvard has sued to artifact the backing frost and persuaded a national justice to temporarily halt the enrollment ban. It is going to tribunal successful Boston connected Thursday conscionable arsenic the commencement is wrapping up, hoping for a ruling that allows it to proceed enrolling planetary students.
“We judge that the authorities overreach and devastating attacks connected technological and aesculapian probe are unwarranted and unlawful, and truthful we person taken ineligible enactment to support the institution,” Garber said successful an interrogation with a assemblage publication.
“We should each beryllium acrophobic that colleges and universities person progressively travel nether attack. But we should not disregard the criticisms adjacent erstwhile they are based connected distortions oregon inaccuracies — we request to look for the underlying concerns that tin beryllium embedded successful them,” said Garber, who commissioned interior reports past twelvemonth connected antisemitism and anti-Arab prejudice astatine the Ivy League campus.
The Trump medication has said it wants "to support American students and module from antisemitic unit and harassment.” It cites field protests against Israel. Like galore assemblage students astir the country, Harvard students acceptable up tents called connected the assemblage to divest from companies supporting Israel's military, which has leveled Gaza successful effect to attacks by Hamas.
Last year, hundreds of graduating students walked retired of commencement chanting “Free, escaped Palestine” aft weeks of field protests. Harvard besides said immoderate protesters would not person diplomas alongside their classmates, though it yet allowed astir to get them.
This year, the anti-war demonstrations person mostly faded from view, but protesters program a soundless vigil earlier Thursday's ceremony.
“As a postgraduate of Harvard, I americium horrified by Israel’s wide execution of Palestinians (including by deliberate starvation), its full leveling of Gaza, its targeting of hospitals, its assaults connected Palestinian acquisition and taste institutions, and its relentless killings of journalists," Harvard postgraduate Victor Wallis explained successful a statement.
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