Trump-Harvard feud sparks debate among students about discrimination in admissions

President Donald Trump’s probe into Harvard University’s admissions policies has sparked aggravated statement among the school’s module and students, with immoderate highlighting the elite school's faults.

"I deliberation this assemblage has gone done a batch of struggle with the pupil body. I deliberation that a batch of these concerns are warranted, but I fishy the governmental quality of immoderate of these investigations and attention," said Kem, a nationalist argumentation large who did not disclose his twelvemonth and past name.

The Department of Education’s Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism released a connection connected May 13, announcing a chopped successful $450 cardinal successful grants from the university, citing that the assemblage has "repeatedly failed to face the pervasive contention favoritism and antisemitic harassment plaguing its campus," successful the aftermath of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas violent onslaught against Israel and ensuing Gaza War.

Furthermore, the Trump medication has frozen $2.2 cardinal successful backing to the assemblage and threatened to revoke its tax-exempt status owed to the Ivy League school's alleged nonaccomplishment to code antisemitism connected campus. Harvard deed backmost with a suit past period implicit the backing freeze, saying it was unlawful.

President of Harvard University Alan Garber addresses the assemblage during the 373rd Commencement astatine Harvard University.  ((Photo by Craig F. Walker/The Boston Globe via Getty Images))

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A autochthonal of Thailand, Kem said that helium has not heard his classmates oregon module members kick astir being discriminated against. He added that helium heard "talk" of Harvard’s nonprofit presumption being revoked.

"I wouldn't beryllium amazed if these kinds of actions are considered," helium said.

Fox News Digital spoke with Harvey Mansfield, a retired prof of implicit 60 years, astatine his workplace property successful Ipswich, Massachusetts, a agrarian municipality extracurricular of Boston. 

"Harvard has recovered retired what it means to thin 1 mode and particularly to the left. That was a large mistake, and I americium gladsome to spot it being corrected and brought to an end," Mansfield said.

Mansfield went connected to say, "I hold with the critics, I deliberation it is simply a mode of discrimination. We shouldn't justice radical by their contention oregon by sex. I deliberation that's wrong, and it's incorrect according to the Supreme Court decision. Recently, it truly has had a large effect connected Harvard and different universities."

Mansfield, 93, taught governmental subject and governmental doctrine astatine Harvard. The writer of the publication "Dead White Males" archetypal attended Harvard astatine property 17. 

Donald Trump has targeted Harvard by freezing their national funding, and Harvard has sued the Trump medication successful response. (Getty Images | iStock)

He added the assemblage and Trump are connected the close track. However, Mansfield believes that Trump’s demands for Harvard are excessively "invasive" and the demands the commander-in-chief is putting connected Harvard could not beryllium met by the university.

"I deliberation it's headed towards adding much conservatives; changing the viewpoint of our wide cognition towards Harvard. Harvard has a monolithic imbalance successful favour of the left, and it needs to close that and that's not going to beryllium easy," the erstwhile world said.

Some Harvard students suggested that the schoolhouse should bash amended astatine admitting students from beyond an upper-class background. For instance, elder Aidan Fitzsimmons said that the schoolhouse seems to admit applicants from akin backgrounds.

"It does benignant of consciousness similar 70% of the kids present travel from the aforesaid kinds of precocious schools, the aforesaid benignant of zip codes. Same apical 15, 20% of the U.S. successful common. It is benignant of shocking to maine however a affluent kid from a D.C. suburb oregon a (San Francisco) SF suburb oregon a New York suburb and an LA suburb oregon a Boston suburb—you know, a batch of them consciousness a batch much akin to 1 another," Fitzsimmons said.

Leo Koerner, a inferior and past large and president of the university's College Republicans, said Harvard’s "elitism" is portion of the cloth of the university.

"The question is whether, if Harvard wants to instrumentality earnestly its committedness to intelligence diversity. If they privation to bash that, past yeah, they person to commencement letting successful radical from … the heartland of America," helium said. "The question is, however are they going to enlistee those people, however are you going to get them here? That's a bigger question. But I don't deliberation you're going to instrumentality the elitism retired of Harvard."

"If the Trump DOJ wants to travel aft Harvard, I'm definite they would beryllium capable to find something," third-year instrumentality pupil Andrew Hayes said.

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A presumption of the statue of John Harvard connected the field of Harvard University successful Cambridge, Massachusetts. (Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

Hayes told Fox News Digital that Harvard University and Harvard Law School, successful particular, person been debating implicit the highly selective school’s admissions policies.

"I cognize a batch of the contention has been centered astatine the college, but present astatine the instrumentality schoolhouse arsenic well," helium said.

"I cognize there's been a batch of contention implicit whether the instrumentality reappraisal successful peculiar and immoderate of the instrumentality schoolhouse admissions and immoderate of the medication present astatine the instrumentality schoolhouse person been successful compliance. Especially wherever national grants are progressive oregon thing similar that. I cognize there's been a batch of treatment connected field astir what the instrumentality reappraisal and astir what the medication person been doing successful presumption of admissions, and whether there's subtle oregon not truthful subtle radical favoritism going on," helium continued.

Hayes besides reacted to a study from the New York Times that Trump is utilizing the Department of Justice to analyse whether Harvard’s admissions policies comply with a Supreme Court ruling that ended affirmative action.

Hayes cited the pupil activistic radical Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA) lawsuit against Harvard that resulted successful the Suprme Court ruling, rejecting the usage of contention arsenic a origin successful assemblage admissions.

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"I mean, evidently the schoolhouse needs to be... a batch much cautious aft the SFFA," helium said. "I deliberation it's a precise adjacent reappraisal of equity that radical successful the admissions bureau and successful the medication of the schoolhouse present have. I deliberation determination astir apt are a batch of discriminatory practices that are getting swept nether the rug for present and so, I don't cognize if they'll travel from journalists oregon travel from a prosecution oregon suit oregon whatever, but I deliberation there's astir apt a batch to spot erstwhile you look nether the hood."