The Trump Administration announced last week it was freezing $2.26 billion in grants and $60 million in contracts that were to be awarded to Harvard University after the school refused to comply with the Trump Administration’s demands that it dismantle so-called diversity programs and limit student protests, without which the violence and antisemitism toward its Jewish students will continue. I hope the Trump IRS withdraws the school’s tax-exempt status next.
President Trump has been clear that his Administration will not tolerate Jewish students (or students of any faith) being harassed and discriminated against in violation of federal and constitutional law. Harvard, unfortunately, is only one of the numerous so-called “elite” American colleges and universities that have tolerated such discrimination.
In response to this demand by the Trump Administration, Harvard President Alan Garber idiotically wrote in a campus-wide message that “the University will not surrender its independence or relinquish its constitutional rights.” (Mr. Garber, I know a way to avoid this “surrender” you fear. How about not annually accepting billions of taxpayer dollars?!). The Trump Education Department soon responded: “Harvard’s statement today reinforces the troubling entitlement mindset that is endemic in our nation’s most prestigious universities and colleges—that federal investment does not come with the responsibility to uphold civil rights laws.”
This development follows a Trump Administration initiative begun two weeks ago reviewing the approximately $9 billion dollars in annual federal funding Harvard receives with demands Harvard must meet to continue its financial relationship with the United States government.
These include “the elimination of diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, a ban on face coverings during protests, and reforms to admissions and hiring systems that prioritize merit-based criteria over race-or gender-based preferences.” (The Epoch Times, April 15, 2025). Harvard, hopelessly Leftist and confused, resisted these calls for reform. As a result, the Trump Administration then brought the hammer stating that “the United States has invested in Harvard’s operations because of the value to the country of scholarly discovery and academic excellence. But an investment is not an entitlement. It depends on Harvard upholding federal civil rights laws, and it only makes sense if Harvard fosters the kind of environment that produces intellectual creativity and scholarly rigor, both of which are antithetical to ideological capture.” (The Epoch Times).
The school must also overhaul its international admissions process to screen out applicants deemed “hostile to American values” or “supportive of terrorism or anti-Semitism.” Harvard must also commission an external audit of faculty, students, staff, and leadership to assess “viewpoint diversity” across all departments and academic units.
The audit must include specific programs that “fuel anti-Semitic harassment or reflect ideological capture.” The audit must also produce a report identifying any faculty who “discriminated against Jewish or Israeli students” or “incited students to violate Harvard’s rules” following the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led massacre in Israel, which triggered a wave of campus protests across the United States. (The Epoch Times).
The Trump Administration position warms my heart.
Recall that three college presidents, including Harvard’s, were grilled in a congressional hearing about the massive protests on their campuses where chants calling for the genocide of Jews, “intifada,” and “from the river to the sea” were heard. All three awkwardly dodged the question or claimed such conduct did not violate their school policies as such, and whether the characterization of such vile hate speech violated school policy depended on the “context.” Again, the indication was that only if gatherings of students chanting genocidal slogans crossed into “conduct” might it be prohibited.
Again, this is the intellectual rot that has poisoned our American institutions of “higher learning” for decades—masquerading as political correctness—coming home to roost. This is where we are with the Woke American Left. There can be no dissenting thought, no genuine exchange of ideas. Rather, you are either Woke, or you are silenced. Censored. Cancelled. Free speech in the context of genuine academic freedom is largely non-existent in American higher education. Many of us have observed this academic censorship for years but the virulent antisemitism we are currently witnessing on college campuses receiving taxpayer-funding is a disturbing reminder.
Harvard boasts an endowment of over $50 billion. The last thing the federal government should be doing with our hard-earned taxpayer dollars is further funding this school and others like it. A hundred times more so when the school is hopelessly engaged in this kind of anti-American behavior, intolerance, and discrimination.
Shreveport attorney, Royal Alexander, worked in D.C. in the U.S. House of Representatives for nearly 8 years for two different Members of Congress from Louisiana.