On April 15, former President Barack Obama publicly criticized the Trump administration for using funding cuts to threaten and pressure universities.
People protest in support of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts on April 15 – Photo: REUTERS
According to the Guardian , former US President Barack Obama publicly supported Harvard University when the university defied the Trump administration’s policies, leading to the freezing of more than $2 billion in federal grants.
Mr Obama criticized Mr Trump’s actions as “illegal and clumsy”, and an excessive interference in academic autonomy.
On social network X, Mr. Obama shared: ” Harvard has set an example for other institutions of higher education in rejecting illegal and clumsy attempts to suppress academic freedom, and taking concrete steps to ensure that all students at Harvard can benefit from an environment of intellectual inquiry, rigorous debate, and mutual respect.”
“Let’s hope other institutions follow Harvard’s lead,” the former US president urged.
Besides Mr. Obama, recently, lecturers at Yale University – another famous university in the Ivy League – on April 15 asked the school’s leadership to “oppose and challenge any illegal demands that threaten academic freedom and autonomy”.
Earlier, on April 14, the Trump administration froze more than $2.3 billion in federal aid to Harvard after the school refused to comply with a series of demands from the White House, including: removing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs; banning pro-Palestinian student groups ; imposing restrictions on student protest activities, and other requests.
Harvard University President Alan Garber said that agreeing to the request would allow the federal government to “take control of the Harvard community” and threaten “the university’s values as a private institution dedicated to the pursuit, creation, and dissemination of knowledge.”
“No government – or party – should dictate what universities can teach, who they can recruit, and what areas of research they can pursue,” Mr Alan asserted.
“The university will not give up its independence, or give up its constitutional liberties. Harvard, like any other university, will not let the federal government take over,” Mr. Alan emphasized.
” The Trump administration is using the threat of funding cuts as a tactic to force universities to make concessions. This is blatantly illegal,” said Rachel Goodman, a representative of the American Association of University Professors .
Now other universities such as Princeton and Stanford also join hands to support Harvard. “Princeton supports Harvard,” Princeton University President Christopher Eisgruber declared.
