Harvard to give 175-year-old photos of enslaved people to South Carolina museum
Harvard University will relinquish 175-year-old photographs of Renty Taylor and his daughter Delia. The photos were believed to be the earliest taken of enslaved people and will be given to a South Carolina museum devoted to African American history as part of a settlement with one of the descendants.May 29, 2025
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The Guardian
32 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Welsh first year at Harvard fears Trump ban will stop him finishing degree
A British freshman at Harvard fears he will not be able to return to the US to complete his degree after Donald Trump demanded it stops teaching international students. Alfred Williamson, 20, from Cardiff, left Boston when the academic year ended two weeks ago to visit family in Denmark, only to wake up on 23 May to dozens of missed calls and messages from loved ones about the decision to prevent the Ivy League university from enrolling or retaining foreign nationals. Approximately a quarter of Harvard's 30,000-strong student body comes from abroad. The university filed a lawsuit last week challenging the government order and on Thursday a Boston judge issued a two-week injunction but the futures of thousands of students like Williamson remain uncertain. 'I was in shock. I had kept a close eye on Trump's threats but I never thought he'd actually do it, I thought it was just a scare tactic,' said the physics and government student. 'People struggled for years to study somewhere like this only for it to be taken away in a matter of moments and we are being called illegal immigrants and aliens. Things are moving quickly and no one knows what to expect.' The Trump administration has demanded that Harvard's international students transfer to other universities in order to hang on to their visas. Both Germany and Hong Kong have floated the idea of hosting 'exile campuses' for international students unable to return to the school, but Harvard has yet to respond to the proposals. Since taking office in January, Ivy League and other elite US universities have been in Trump's crosshairs, with the president repeatedly accusing Harvard of kowtowing to 'wokism' and 'radical left lunatics' as well as fostering violence and antisemitism since the outbreak of the war in Gaza. He has also claimed, without providing evidence, the university is coordinating with the Chinese Communist party. Williamson has also wondered whether the US president singled him out during the announcement of the new measures targeting Harvard. Sign up to Headlines UK Get the day's headlines and highlights emailed direct to you every morning after newsletter promotion 'They're taking people from areas of the world that are very radicalised and we don't want them making trouble in our country,' Trump said earlier this week. 'I saw yesterday that in the middle of the UK, there was a nice young man who wants to go back to school at Harvard and he looked good to me but I want to check.' 'The mood on campus after Trump was elected was very difficult, people were scared. Rumours Ice agents were around would spread and the international students would all go hide in their dorms,' Williamson said. He has not yet heard if his visa has been renewed for next year. He is aware that some peers have already faced delays and other issues, but the university has been 'very supportive'. While he is unsure about whether he will be able to continue his studies at Harvard, for now, Williamson said he is not entertaining the idea of applying or transferring elsewhere. He added: 'My first year at Harvard was the best year of my life. I don't want to give up on that unless there is no other choice.'
Daily Mail
15 hours ago
- Daily Mail
KEVIN O'LEARY: One Trump policy battle could ruin America's economy for decades. There's a way to stop it... that liberals will hate!
Harvard President Alan Garber received a hero's welcome at the university's commencement ceremony on Thursday, as he congratulated graduating students from 'around the world,' repeating the phrase 'around the world,' for emphasis. Cute. But this is no time to antagonize.
The Guardian
a day ago
- The Guardian
Judge extends order blocking Trump officials from revoking Harvard's ability to enroll international students
A US federal judge will issue an injunction blocking the Trump administration's efforts to prevent Harvard University from enrolling international students, Reuters reported on Thursday. The university was in court seeking to extend a temporary order blocking the Trump administration from revoking the school's right to host international students. The judge, Allison Burroughs, had issued an emergency block last week after the administration abruptly announced it would cancel Harvard's ability to host international students – the latest and most severe escalation in the administration's battle against higher education institutions. As graduation ceremonies were under way on campus, lawyers for the university argued in federal court in Boston that the revocation announced by the government last week violates the US constitution's free speech and due process rights as well as procedural law regulating government actions. In a packed court room with several international students in attendance, Burroughs said she wanted to 'maintain the status quo' while the case makes its way through the courts. In court documents filed on Wednesday, the director of immigration services at the university's international office said that the administration's announcement has caused 'profound fear, concern, and confusion' among faculty and students. 'Many international students and scholars are reporting significant emotional distress that is affecting their mental health and making it difficult to focus on their studies,' she wrote. 'Some are afraid to attend their own graduation ceremonies this week out of fear that some immigration-related action will be taken against them.' On Thursday, shortly before the hearing, the Department of Homeland Security formally notified Harvard that it would withdraw the university's certification under the federal Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP), the system that allows universities to enroll non-US students. But the move, which gave the university 30 days to contest the revocation through an administrative process, indicated it was backtracking from the immediate revocation the administration announced last week. In a statement, the department's head, Kristi Noem, doubled down on her allegations against Harvard, which she has accused of 'pro-terrorist conduct', 'encouraging and allowing antisemitic and anti-American violence' and of 'coordinating with Chinese Communist Party officials on training that undermined American national security'. 'Harvard's refusal to comply with SEVP oversight was the latest evidence that it disdains the American people and takes for granted U.S. taxpayer benefits,' Noem added. If allowed to stand, the administration's action against Harvard would affect a quarter of the university's population: approximately 5,000 current students, as well as 2,000 recent graduates enrolled in optional practical training, a post-graduation work programme. Sign up to This Week in Trumpland A deep dive into the policies, controversies and oddities surrounding the Trump administration after newsletter promotion Harvard maintains that the administration's decision is retaliation for the university's refusal to abide by a series of overly broad demands made by the Trump administration that would severely undermine the university's independence. The administration had demanded Harvard turn over information about its international students, including discipline records as well as student's addresses, contact information and details about their coursework. It announced the revocations after it said the university failed to comply. In April, the university became the first to sue the administration over billions in cuts to federally funded research – setting off a showdown with the White House, which earlier this week announced it would cancel all remaining government contracts with the university. In total, the administration has cut or frozen about $3bn in federal grants and contracts with Harvard. Those cuts have already upended crucial medical and scientific research initiatives, but the latest attack on international students had spread panic among thousands of current and incoming international students – with many seeking last minute transfers to other universities, canceling summer travel plans for fear of not being able to return, or reconsidering plans to study in the US altogether. Some foreign universities have also seized on the crisis, looking to recruit Harvard students away from the US. 'International students and scholars are tremendous assets that contribute to US preeminence in innovation, research, and economic strength,' said Fanta Aw, executive director and CEO of Nafsa, the Association of International Educators. 'Undermining their ability to study here is self-defeating. With these actions, the United States will alienate the very minds that fuel its success.'
