Harvard University announced that it will not bow down to Donald Trump‘s order to impose strict laws against students who express their political views.
“The university will not surrender its independence or relinquish its constitutional rights,” the school tweeted on Monday. “Neither Harvard nor any other private university can allow itself to be taken over by the federal government.”
The university will not surrender its independence or relinquish its constitutional rights. Neither Harvard nor any other private university can allow itself to be taken over by the federal government. https://t.co/5k5t9RYYC2
— Harvard University (@Harvard) April 14, 2025
What are the demands Trump is trying to impose on Harvard?
According to NBC News, Harvard president Alan M. Garber sent an email to the community and revealed that the university received “an updated and expanded list of demands” from Trump. The list includes 10 demands, according to the school, and urges the university to comply if it wishes to “maintain financial relationship with the federal government.”
Garber said the Trump administration is demanding Harvard to restrict international students who are “hostile to the American values and institutions.” The Trump administration, which claims to be cracking down on antisemitism on university campus, is threatening to audit schools that “fuel antisemitic harassment or reflect ideological capture,” per NBC News.
The administration is also ordering Harvard to shut down all DEI programs and initiatives. According to the demand, Harvard must exchange DEI programs for “merit-based” policies.
What is Harvard’s response to Trump’s demands?
Garber continues to stand up for the school, saying he will not allow the federal government to control the viewpoints of students and faculty.
“It makes clear that the intention is not to work with us to address antisemitism in a cooperative and constructive manner,” Garber said in his statement. “Although some of the demands outlined by the government are aimed at combating antisemitism, the majority represent direct governmental regulation of the ‘intellectual conditions’ at Harvard.”
Harvard’s lawyers added that the school is “committed to fighting antisemitism and other forms of bigotry in its community,” but Trump’s policies “invade university freedoms long recognized by the Supreme Court.”
“The government’s terms also circumvent Harvard’s statutory rights by requiring unsupported and disruptive remedies for alleged harms that the government has not proven through mandatory processes established by Congress and required by law,” the lawyers stated, per NBC News.
