In a letter to Harvard Friday, the administration called for broad government and leadership reforms, a requirement that Harvard institute what it calls “merit-based” admissions and hiring policies as well as conduct an audit of the study body, faculty and leadership on their views about diversity.
The demands, which are an update from an earlier letter, also call for a ban on face masks — which appeared to target anti-Israel protesters. They also pressure the university to stop recognizing or funding "any student group or club that endorses or promotes criminal activity, illegal violence, or illegal harassment.”
Harvard President Alan Garber, in a letter to the Harvard community Monday, said the demands violated the university's First Amendment rights and “exceeds the statutory limits of the government’s authority under Title VI," which prohibits discrimination against students based on their race, color or national origin.
“No government — regardless of which party is in power — should dictate what private universities can teach, whom they can admit and hire, and which areas of study and inquiry they can pursue,” Garber wrote.
The demands of Harvard are part of a broader push of using taxpayer dollars to pressure major academic institutions to agree to the Trump administration's efforts to curb anti-Israel protests which have also led to some incidents of violence against Jewish students.
The Trump administration has also paused federal funding for the University of Pennsylvania, Brown and Princeton to force compliance with its agenda. Harvard's demand letter is similar to the one that prompted changes at Columbia University under the threat of billions of dollars in cuts.
