President Trump Holds Harvard University Accountable for Disregarding Students’ Civil Rights

Yesterday, the Department of Education's Joint Taskforce to Combat Antisemitism froze $2.2 billion in multi-year grants and $60 million in contracts to Harvard University. This action came in response to Harvard’s rejection of the Department of Education’s April 11 settlement proposal which sought to reconcile the university’s status as a recipient of federal education funding with the egregious disregard it displayed for the civil rights and safety of Jewish students during last year’s campus antisemitism crisis.

Today, the America First Policy Institute (AFPI) released the following statement from Chris Schorr, Ph.D., Director of AFPI’s Higher Education Reform Initiative:

“Last year, Harvard University failed to protect Jewish students from violence, harassment, and intimidation—contrary to its obligations under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act (1964). Unfortunately, Harvard’s disregard for its civil rights obligations is part of a disturbing pattern that includes embracing racial discrimination in hiring, promotions, and training policies, tolerating academic plagiarism, suppressing free expression, and cultivating a biased viewpoint monoculture.

Harvard’s leaders evidently believe their institution’s ‘elite’ status renders it unaccountable to American law; however, the Trump Administration sees things differently and is rightfully holding them accountable.”

Additional AFPI policy resources:

• Expert Insights: Woke Antisemites Won’t Stop with Jewish Students
• Congressional Testimony: The Campus Antisemitism Complex at Elite U.S. Universities
• Issue Brief: The Biden-Harris Administration Has Failed to Combat Campus Antisemitism