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India Today
28-04-2025
- Politics
- India Today
Over 150 US universities join Harvard to defend academic freedom from Trump
The battle for academic freedom in the United States has reached a pivotal moment as universities across the nation join forces to push back against the Trump administration's escalating attempts to control higher education. In an unprecedented move, Harvard University has filed a lawsuit against the federal government, challenging a 2.2 billion dollar funding freeze imposed on the legal action comes amid a broader campaign of intimidation and political interference targeting universities that have criticised or resisted the administration's BOLD LEGAL CHALLENGEHarvard's lawsuit represents a significant escalation in the fight for academic autonomy. The university argues that the government's demands to freeze research funding are unlawful and overstep its authority. President Alan M Garber of Harvard stated that the government's actions would have "stark real-life consequences" for students, faculty, staff, researchers, and the future of American higher funding freeze was triggered by allegations of antisemitism on campus, but Harvard contends that these concerns are unfounded and unrelated to the vital research being conducted at the the projects that could be jeopardized by the freeze are critical medical and scientific initiatives aimed at improving cancer treatments, preventing the spread of infectious diseases, and advancing cutting-edge technological addition to freezing federal research funds, the Trump administration also threatened to withhold funding from several Boston hospitals affiliated with Harvard, despite the fact that these hospitals are independent entities not under the university's control. This move has been widely criticised as arbitrary and politically RESISTANCE AMONGST UNIVERSITIESadvertisementHarvard's legal challenge has sparked a broader movement amongst universities across the country. More than 150 university presidents have signed a joint letter condemning the Trump administration's "unprecedented government overreach."The letter, which represents a wide array of institutions, from large state universities to small liberal arts colleges, calls for a collective defence of academic freedom and institutional signatories argue that the government's attempts to manipulate university policies through the use of federal funding are a direct threat to the principles of liberal education that are foundational to letter stresses that while universities should be open to constructive reforms, they must not be coerced into aligning with political agendas that undermine the core values of academic collective stand is not limited to the leaders of these universities. A growing number of faculty members, students, and academic organisations have joined in opposing the government's interference in Wolfson of the American Association of University Professors told The Guardian that the real pushback is coming from grassroots movements within universities, particularly from students, faculty, and labour unions, rather than from university administrators Trump administration has ramped up its pressure on universities through a series of executive orders and policy changes aimed at curbing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programmes and punishing institutions that participate in certain social justice of the most controversial aspects of this strategy is the threat of withholding funding from universities that refuse to align with the government's policies regarding National Institutes of Health (NIH), the largest funder of medical and biological research in the US, has warned that it will pull grants from universities that participate in boycotts of Israeli companies or engage in DEI programmes that don't comply with federal which received nearly 500 million dollar in NIH funding last year, is one of the universities most affected by this have warned that the fallout from these cuts could be devastating for US universities, especially those relying heavily on federal research Trump administration's tactics have been described as part of a broader "flood-the-zone" strategy, overwhelming universities with a constant barrage of executive orders and directives. This has made it difficult for academic leaders to respond to each challenge in a timely manner, but Harvard's decision to take legal action has begun to shift the tide in favour of university FOR FREE SPEECH ON CAMPUSWhile universities are increasingly standing up to the Trump administration's encroachment on academic freedom, they are also facing their own challenges related to free universities, including Yale and Columbia, have come under fire for punishing students involved in pro-Palestinian activism, particularly those who have criticised Israel's actions have raised concerns amongst civil rights advocates, who argue that universities must not only resist political interference from the government but also ensure that free speech is protected on Porell from Palestine Legal told The Guardian that universities must safeguard the right to express views critical of government policies, including those related to Israel. She added that the recent crackdown on pro-Palestinian protests has highlighted the tension between protecting academic freedom and maintaining political neutrality on OF HIGHER EDUCATIONAs the Trump administration continues its attacks on academic institutions, the fight for academic freedom is far from over. The stakes are high, with the future of research funding, free speech, and institutional autonomy hanging in the universities are slowly beginning to unite in opposition to government interference, the real challenge will be maintaining this momentum and ensuring that higher education in the US remains a bastion of intellectual resistance movement within universities is gaining strength, and experts believe that sustained pushback from students, faculty, and university leaders will be key to protecting the integrity of American higher the situation unfolds, it will require bold action and unwavering commitment from all sectors of academia to ensure that the principles of free inquiry, academic freedom, and democracy are upheld in the face of mounting political Watch
Business Insider
24-04-2025
- Politics
- Business Insider
Trump wants to overhaul the way colleges receive federal student loans and grants as part of DEI crackdown
One of President Donald Trump 's latest executive orders is aimed at tapping what he called his "secret weapon" to crack down on DEI initiatives at colleges and universities. Of the seven executive orders related to education that Trump signed on Wednesday, one was aimed at changing the college accreditation process. Accreditors are independent agencies that review colleges every few years to determine if they meet the necessary standards to continue receiving federal aid, including student achievement and diversity on campuses. If a college meets the accreditor's standards, it can take part in the billions of dollars of student loans and federal grants for low-income students that the Department of Education disburses each year. Trump's executive order said that accreditors have allowed schools to continue receiving federal funding based on their DEI standards and have "abused their enormous authority" by accrediting schools that engage in "ideological overreach." "America's higher education accreditation system is broken," Education Secretary Linda McMahon said in a statement, adding that accreditors push schools "in ideological directions when they should be focused on core subjects." "The result is more bureaucracy, less innovation, sprawling DEI administrative complexes, and burdensome oversight by unaccountable accreditors rather than state education leaders and duly appointed governing board members," McMahon said. The order directs McMahon to monitor and potentially terminate accreditors who she finds are violating civil rights law by granting accreditation to colleges with DEI initiatives. It also directs McMahon, in partnership with the Department of Health and Human Services, to investigate DEI at medical schools that receive federal funding. Trump has previously called college accreditation his "secret weapon" to overhaul higher education in his vision. In a campaign video from 2023, Trump said that he will "fire the radical Left accreditors that have allowed our colleges to become dominated by Marxist Maniacs and lunatics." "We will then accept applications for new accreditors who will impose real standards on colleges once again and once and for all," he said. It's unclear how McMahon will move forward with implementing the executive order. It was accompanied by six other orders related to education, including one to boost the number of apprenticeships in the US, and another aimed at educating students on artificial intelligence. The move comes amid Trump's broader plans to reshape the US education system. He has launched dozens of investigations into both K-12 and higher education institutions over practices that don't align with the administration's beliefs, like diversity policies. More broadly, Trump signed an executive order calling for the entire Department of Education to be eliminated. Some advocates criticised Trump's moves to reshape accreditation. Todd Wolfson, president of the American Association of University Professors, said in a statement that Trump is "weaponizing the accreditation process to gain the leverage he seeks."
