It's a bit early to oppose Harvard's negotiations with Trump
Steven Pinker, psychology professor and copresident of Harvard's Council on Academic Freedom, told me. 'It's wise to try to see if there's a face-saving exit — especially assuming that the university doesn't do something crazy like allow the Trump administration to vet faculty appointments or to adjudicate viewpoint diversity or screen applicants for sympathy with American values.'
That's the right approach. When the White House can make life even more difficult for Harvard and other universities — say, by trying to
Advertisement
But some members of the AAUP see the mere act of negotiating as an affront to the university's independence. Government professor and AAUP member Ryan Enos told me, 'It's not a negotiation when somebody is holding a gun to your head.' He added that 'in a free society, we don't negotiate for our rights.'
Advertisement
Enos has some misgivings about the rollout of diversity, equity, and inclusion in universities, but he believes the Trump administration is 'not asking for an honest and fair way to try to solve that problem.' He believes that the Trump administration is violating Harvard's First Amendment rights, as one of Harvard's lawsuits alleges.
Similarly, Kirsten Weld, a history professor and president of Harvard's AAUP chapter, told me that the Trump administration is leveraging 'a huge amount of punitive, coercive power.'
The Trump administration has overstepped on some of its demands, but on a purely practical level, Harvard is facing debilitating penalties.
Billions of dollars are on the line for critical biomedical research. Foreign students that work on world-leading scientific research are no doubt eyeing research institutions abroad.
'The impact of these actions by the government, which are terrible, are terrible on biomedicine and the biomedical community at the medical school,' Jeff Flier, a medical school professor and the co-president of the Council on Academic Freedom at Harvard, told me. 'You know, if Harvard had no [federal] funding, the English department could continue for the next 600 years.'
A Harvard Crimson
Advertisement
Many of the ideological gripes that Trump has with Harvard come out of the humanities — not from chemistry labs. And the truth is that the Trump attacks on Harvard, while
There's
heterodox thinkers in the name of 'safety.'
I'd wager that some Harvard leaders are more than happy to have an excuse to do away with the most ideologically driven policies. And if Harvard has truly allowed discrimination to take place — something the Trump administration
before
attacking Harvard — then there are grounds for federal recourse.
Negotiations are common parts of resolving legal disputes. The school shouldn't concede on issues that truly compromise its academic freedom. Some of the Trump administration's demands improperly ask Harvard to swap its own ideological litmus tests for the federal government's. Demands like auditing of the faculty and admissions process, and getting to define what ideological diversity looks like on campus are infringements on a private institution.
But there are concessions that could actually strengthen Harvard's academic environment. Pinker listed a few, like upholding rules on disruptive protests, enacting measures to 'reinforce openness and mutual respect in the undergraduate culture,' and an agreement to follow the law on 'racial preferences in admissions and enrolling foreign students.'
Advertisement
Harvard should dismantle any remaining DEI bureaucracy and instead commit to upholding the civil rights protections that are already in place. It should shy away from the language of equity and instead resolve to respect each of its students equally, expecting excellence from everyone — something it
Supporting negotiations with the Trump administration doesn't mean you want to instate a quota for the children of Mar-a-Lago members.
Carine Hajjar is a Globe Opinion writer. She can be reached at
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
21 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Alabama farmer sees new interest within days of Trump's tomato tariff — and says former trade deal ‘never worked' for US
With President Trump's latest tariff announcement, the price of tomatoes could soon be going up in the U.S. On July 14, the Trump Administration announced a 17% tariff on tomatoes imported from Mexico, ending a decades-long trade deal that kept the price of importing tomatoes down in the U.S. Don't miss Thanks to Jeff Bezos, you can now become a landlord for as little as $100 — and no, you don't have to deal with tenants or fix freezers. Here's how I'm 49 years old and have nothing saved for retirement — what should I do? Don't panic. Here are 5 of the easiest ways you can catch up (and fast) Want an extra $1,300,000 when you retire? Dave Ramsey says this 7-step plan 'works every single time' to kill debt, get rich in America — and that 'anyone' can do it 'Mexico remains one of our greatest allies, but for far too long our farmers have been crushed by unfair trade practices that undercut pricing on produce like tomatoes,' said U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick in the press release. 'That ends today.' And while some Americans may not be in support of additional tariffs levied against America's international trade partners, several U.S. farmers stand in strong support of Trump's latest trade move. 'Been two days now and we've actually had a lot more calls' For decades, U.S. and Mexican tomato operations worked under a trade agreement that allowed for relatively easy importation of Mexican tomatoes into U.S. markets. The deal was meant to protect American tomato farmers, but many believe the old trade agreement didn't do enough. 'There's been loopholes that the Mexican tomato producers have taken advantage of and continue to price dump, or lower the prices below the cost of production here in the United States and in Alabama," Blake Thaxton, executive director of the Alabama Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association, told WVTM 13 News. Chad Smith of Smith Tomato Farms in St. Clair County, Alabama echoed Thaxton's concerns with the old trade deal with Mexico. 'If they send the tomatoes over and it's supposed to be a set price and they need to move tomatoes, well, they may just give a load of bell peppers for free for them to take the tomatoes. So, it's never really worked,' said Smith. American tomato farmers had long felt as if they were hard-pressed to compete with the imports from Mexico, but several of them now see better times ahead with Trump's latest tariff news. 'It's only been two days now and we've actually had a lot more calls from people who have an interest in doing business," said Smith. 'And the price hasn't even changed.' As for Thaxton, he believes the potential of a sustainable future for U.S. tomato farmers is important. 'Food security is national security, and we need to be able to produce our own food here in the United States,' said Thaxton. Read more: Nervous about the stock market in 2025? Find out how you can How the new tariff may affect your wallet While some American farmers are hopeful that the tomato tariff will impact their bottom line in a positive way, there's a concern that the changing policy will lead to higher prices at the grocery store. After all, the costs of producing tomatoes are higher in the U.S., thanks in part to American farms paying their workers up to 10 times more per hour than farm workers in Mexico. Thaxton believes the rising tomato costs won't be too dramatic, but other experts appear to be more concerned. In fact, some predict the new tomato tariff could push prices up by 10%. Since American farms face significantly higher production costs than Mexican growers — this includes wages, land, regulation, insurance, property taxes and equipment — these costs may be passed along to American consumers at the grocery store. At this moment, it's tough to predict the exact outcome that the tariff will have on the U.S. tomato market. While it looks like the tariff could help American farmers, it's unclear whether or not it will help American wallets. What to read next Robert Kiyosaki warns of a 'Greater Depression' coming to the US — with millions of Americans going poor. But he says these 2 'easy-money' assets will bring in 'great wealth'. How to get in now Here are 5 simple ways to grow rich with real estate if you don't want to play landlord. And you can even start with as little as $10 Rich, young Americans are ditching the stormy stock market — here are the alternative assets they're banking on instead Here are 5 'must have' items that Americans (almost) always overpay for — and very quickly regret. How many are hurting you? Stay in the know. Join 200,000+ readers and get the best of Moneywise sent straight to your inbox every week for free. This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.
New York Post
22 minutes ago
- New York Post
Hamas releases chilling video of ‘living skeleton' hostage Evyatar David : ‘Few days left to live'
The family of Hamas-held hostage Evyatar David – a 'living skeleton' – believe he has just 'a few days left to live' – as negotiations for the freeing of all remaining Israeli captives continue to stall In a new propaganda video released by the terror group, David, 24, is seen in a tunnel with a ceiling roughly as high as he is tall, crossing off dates on a calendar and digging what he says he fears is his own grave. 'I haven't eaten for a few days in a row,' David says in the footage. The video shows David digging inside a tunnel. Hamas / Hostages and Missing Families Forum David's family believe he just has a few days left to live. Hamas / Hostages and Missing Families Forum In the middle of the video, the person behind the camera hands him a can of beans. 'This can is for two days. This whole can is for two days so that I don't die,' David says. 'This is the grave I think I'm going to be buried in,' he goes on. 'Time is running out. You are the only ones who can end this,' David said in the propaganda video aimed at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. before being interspliced with clips of starving Palestinian children. 'We are forced to witness our beloved son and brother, Evyatar David, deliberately and cynically starved in Hamas's tunnels in Gaza – a living skeleton, buried alive,' the David family said in a statement sent to the Hostages Families Forum Headquarters. 'The deliberate starvation of our son as part of a propaganda campaign is one of the most horrifying acts the world has seen.' This is the second hostage video released by the terror group this week. On Thursday, chilling footage showed Israeli hostage Rom Braslavski ghostly and frail as he cried during the six-minute video. Both were kidnapped during a music festival during the October 7 terror attack and are among the remaining 20 hostages believed to still be alive. 'They are on the absolute brink of death,' brother Ilay David said Saturday, speaking in English before a crowd of thousands at Hostages Square in Tel Aviv, as thousands of protesters gathered for their weekly demonstrations to call for the release of the hostages. David called on President Trump to bring about the hostages' release 'by any means necessary.' 'To remain silent now is to be complicit in their slow agonizing death,' he said. US special envoy Steve Witkoff, meanwhile, told Israeli hostages' families in a meeting in Tel Aviv Saturday, that he had no news of progress in talks with Hamas, according to Hebrew media. 'I hear your frustration. But the situation is complicated. There are many reasons [for this] that I cannot detail,' Witkoff said, also emphasizing to the families that President Trump's mission is to bring everyone home. 'We now need to bring all of them home. We are very close to ending the war,' he said, according to the statement. 'We have a plan to end the war and bring everyone home.' 'No piecemeal deals,' Witkoff said. 'That doesn't work. And we've tried everything.' a comprehensive Gaza ceasefire-hostage agreement and would no longer seek 'piecemeal deals,'and is opposed to expanding the fighting in Gaza. The effort was complicated, he said, but he believed it would ultimately succeed. The terror group later vowed not to disarm 'as long as the occupation exists' and until there is a fully sovereign Palestinian state. Israel could announce a plan to annex parts of the Gaza Strip to pressure Hamas to accept a cease-fire deal, according to a cabinet minister.
New York Post
22 minutes ago
- New York Post
Three killed in Russia as Ukraine takes aim at Putin's oil and military sites in retaliatory strikes
Kyiv blasted Russia with a barrage of drone strikes overnight, killing at least three people in retaliation for one of Moscow's deadliest attacks of the more than three-year-old war. Drone storage sites and oil refineries bankrolling Russian strongman Vladimir Putin's invasion into Ukraine were targeted, Ukrainian military officials said. Among the casualties was a guard at an industrial facility near the Ukrainian border. Further from the frontline, a woman died in a drone strike and an elderly man was crushed by drone debris that fell on his house, according to field reports. 4 A Ukrainian drone sparked a massive fire at the Novokuybyshevsk oil refinery in Russia. social media; east2west news The Kyiv offensive also sparked a massive fire at the Novokuybyshevsk oil refinery, leading to significant damage to the facility. A thick orange ball of flames and plumes of smoke resembling that of a nuclear explosion could be seen, Russian media reported. Meanwhile, two Ukrainians were killed Saturday morning in Kherson, north of Crimea, according to the head of the Regional Military Administration. Another 11 civilians were wounded in an overnight attack on Kharkiv, Ukrainian's second largest city, near the Russian border, where a drone slammed a large residential building. Ukraine's retaliatory strikes came after a day of mourning in the capital following one of the deadliest assaults of the conflict – where 31 were killed in Kyiv — including five children — and 150 were wounded. 'It's impossible to justify what Russia is doing,' Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelensky said on social media. 4 Zelensky laid flowers in front of a residential building in Kyiv after Thursday's deadly attack on the capital. UKRAINIAN PRESIDENTIAL PRESS SERVICE/AFP via Getty Images 'There was no military purpose at all,' he added about Thursday's devastating assault that targeted residential buildings. The relentless Russian attacks continued this week after President Trump gave Putin an Aug. 8 deadline to agree to a cease-fire deal aimed at ending the escalating war. Trump said special envoy Steve Witkoff is headed to Russia, to push Putin to end the war. But some talks had already taken place earlier this week with the Kremlin and 'no progress' had been made, according to Secretary of State Marco Rubio. 4 A woman stands near burned-out cars in Druzhkivka, Ukraine, after a Russian drone attack overnight. via REUTERS Trump is threatening new economic sanctions against the Kremlin if progress stalls, with Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) ready to move on a bill introduced by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and cosponsored by more than 80 senators. 'Only sanctions will convince Moscow to genuinely work for peace,' Zelensky said in a video on X. 4 Crews completed search and rescue operations Friday at this residential building in Kyiv hit in Thursday's deadly attack. Maxym Marusenko/NurPhoto/Shutterstock In the wake of the fast-approaching Friday deadline, Putin has proposed a new negotiation framework, the Kyiv Independent reported. The Russian tyrant floated the creation of three working groups toward peace talks — but insisted the format would remain behind closed doors. 'It was agreed that we could hold these negotiations without cameras, without any political nonsense — in a calm manner and with a focus on finding compromises,' Putin said. With Post wires
