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Chicago Tribune
5 days ago
- Politics
- Chicago Tribune
Editorial: Harvard defends itself in a way all Americans should understand
Feeling like a medieval messenger, Abraham Verghese said, the distinguished physician and writer had 'slipped into the besieged community' of Harvard University Thursday to deliver the school's commencement address. Any other year, such a metaphor would have been absurd. Even a year ago at Harvard, the very notion of community was stretching the definition of the world, with students and faculty at odds over the school's response to the conflict in the Middle East. A matter of weeks ago, twin internal Harvard reports had found both a rise in 'Antisemitism and Anti-Israeli bias' and in 'Anti-Muslim, Anti-Arab, and Anti-Palestinian bias.' No wonder the university's President Alan Garber called the 2023-24 academic year 'disappointing and painful.' But nothing squelches internal fighting like a common enemy. This week, Harvard finally got its act together to defend itself, and by extension, all American universities, against extraordinary governmental attacks by articulating a defense resting on three granite pillars: freedom of speech, the importance of the rule of law and the value of America educating the world. Such, of course, are traditional Republican values as well as Democratic positions, arguably more so, given Democrats queasiness over at least the first two during the COVID era. Finally, a higher education sector that had fallen under the thrall of extremists and thus removed itself from the lives of most Americans has figured out that it can explain its importance if it does so in language core to the founding and essence of this republic. Such a defense was a long time coming but was balm for the ears once it arrived at what must surely have been just about the most politically charged graduation in Harvard's long history, given that contemporaneous news of a court putting a hold on the Trump administration's intent to prevent Harvard from enrolling international students became part of the ceremony. After all, what American argument could possibly be made for prohibiting international students, at least beyond the tiny percentage employed as some kind of spy? The benefits flow both ways: loyalty to America from such graduates has long been a major source of U.S. soft power and, of course, their full tuition, typically, boosts the local economy and often subsidizes low-income domestic students. And who beyond a xenophobe could possibly believe that one's education is not enhanced by a classmate from elsewhere in the world, a truth that applies to kindergarten just as much as at Harvard? Garber was greeted by a long, standing ovation at Harvard on Thursday, reflective of broad appreciation of his stand against the Trump administration. But Verghese, of Stanford University, a physician who spoke of compassion, healing and of life's brevity, was the chief messenger of sanity. 'The outrage you must feel, the outrage so many feel,' he said, 'also must surely lead us to a new appreciation. Appreciation for the rule of law and due process, which till now we took for granted — because this is America after all!' Verghese noted it was 'a reflex of so-called strong men to attack the places where truth and reason prevail.' An immigrant himself, he captured the fundamental optimism of the aspirational arriver on American shores: 'Who believes in America more than the immigrant who runs down the gangplank and kisses the ground?' He said the values of a university fighting against 'a cascade of draconian government measures' represent the values of the entire nation and he did so with optimism, this being a graduation and all. 'I know,' he said, 'that we will find our way back to an America whose attributes I admired from afar.' We know that too. And we also know that the students who graduated in recent weeks from many fine universities, including those matriculating next weekend at the University of Chicago, will be among those charged with that return. 'Though many would be loath to admit it,' Garber said Thursday at Harvard, 'absolute certainty and willful ignorance are two sides of the same coin, a coin with no value but costs beyond measure.' Here was a clever, even a passive-aggressive metaphor of a meme, along the same lines as Verghese saying that immigrants can and will 'keep America great.' 'The world,' Garber said, 'tempts us with the lure of what one might generously call comfortable thinking, a habit of mind that readily convinces us of the merits of our own assumptions, the veracity of our own arguments, and the soundness of our own opinions, positions, and perspectives — so committed to our beliefs that we seek information that confirms them as we discredit evidence that refutes them.' It was inspiring to hear such strong minds focus not on dogma or the grievances of identity politics but on the importance of critical thinking, of staying open to the world, of challenging one's own certainties, of being led not as sheep scared to go against the majority and determined to filter all facts through personal biases but as Americans open to being flat wrong. It is not only Harvard's best defense — or any university's best defense — against an authoritarian government. It is this country's best defense. The next step, though, is to better understand why those attacks on free academic speech and openness to the world are arriving from a legitimately elected administration with the backing of so many fellow Americans, including so many of those who value freedom above all else. That's the most important charge to the Class of 2025.
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Jewish, Israeli Harvard students felt shunned, silenced after 2023 attacks in Israel, report says
The aftermath of the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks in Israel, Jewish and Israeli Harvard University students and faculty felt shunned and silenced, regardless of which side they supported, according to a report released this week. Harvard's Presidential Task Force on Combating Antisemitism and Anti-Israeli Bias found that during the 2023-2024 school year, when protests and tension roiled the university campus, Jewish and Israeli members of the Harvard community kept quiet during discussions of current events, and some hid their identity entirely. Those who didn't, lost friends and were kept out of social circles, sometimes explicitly because of their identity or beliefs, according to the report. 'I feel lucky I don't look Jewish,' one undergraduate student told the task force. 'I know if I do the 'wrong thing', I might get the antisemitism. So, put your headphones in, make sure you're not outwardly Jewish, and just walk to class.' The report was released Tuesday, at the same time that the corresponding Task Force on Combating Anti-Muslim, Anti-Arab and Anti-Palestinian Bias published its findings. Read more: Feds launch racial discrimination investigations targeting Harvard Law Review A Harvard-wide survey of Jewish students found that 67% of those who responded were uncomfortable expressing their opinions, and 73% felt uncomfortable expressing their political opinions, according to the report. Jewish students reported being told by peers and faculty that 'they were associated with something offensive, and, in some cases, that their very presence was an offense.' Others told the task force they were repeatedly asked if they were 'one of the good ones' who did not support Israel. In some cases, students who spoke to the task force said they had avoided taking certain classes because the professor had expressed anti-Zionist views — opposition to a Jewish state. Or they dropped classes because they felt pressured or targeted during discussions about the conflict. Read more: Harvard renames its DEI office, conceding on Trump demand The report included multiple accounts from Jewish and Israeli students who were told that other students would not associate them, whether or not they had expressed support for Israel. Their non-Jewish, non-Israeli friends, too, reported being excluded simply because of their association. In particular, Israeli students and those of Israeli descent felt that their nationality made them targets. Some students described having other students end conversations immediately upon learning of their connections to Israel. Others said they were immediately labeled as Zionist, genocidal, murderers or as Israeli soldiers, due to the country's conscription requirement for all citizens. Read more: Harvard changes admissions policy, offering foreign students a 'backup plan' In one case, a few years before the Oct. 7 attacks, an Israeli student was assigned a partner for a group project, and their partner requested a new group due to their own political beliefs, according to the report. The task force was told that the professor granted the request. 'The social exclusion and shunning of Israeli students lies at the core of the Harvard experience for many,' one Israeli undergraduate student told the task force. 'From my first days on campus, I noticed students in pre-orientation avoiding conversation with me, simply out of fear of being associated with an Israeli ... Israeli students at Harvard are not merely subjected to implicit bias but instead face explicit, deliberate discrimination.' For anti-Zionist Jewish students and staff, in addition to experiencing antisemitism, they described feeling ostracized from Jewish spaces for their beliefs. According to the report, in many Jewish student groups and organizations, 'support for Israel seemed assumed or even demanded.' 'The largest form of antisemitism I have experienced has been from other Jewish students who are interested in policing the bounds of Jewish identity one way or the other,' one student said. The recommendations from the task force on antisemitism and anti-Israeli bias include: Harvard should clarify its values through a statement that antisemitism and anti-Israeli bias — along with Islamophobia, anti-Arab bias, racism, misogyny, homophobia or transphobia — are forms of hatred that have no place within the Harvard community Act against discrimination, bullying, harassment and hate Improve disciplinary processes, such as striving for consistency in disciplinary cases and engaging in follow-up after complaints and consistency in disciplinary cases. Implement education and training on antisemitism, including orientation for new students, student organization leaders, peer advising fellows and residential undergraduate supervisors. Foster constructive dialogue on difficult subjects, including high-profile talks between people who disagree on controversial issues respectfully, and an award for a community member combating antisemitism. Support Jewish life on campus, such as through kosher hot lunches, pork products being marked and staff providing reasonable accommodation for staff and students. The task force emphasized that the opportunity for free speech was imperative for all members of the Harvard community to feel comfortable at the university. 'The State of Israel, like other nations, engages in behaviors that members of our community may find objectionable, even deplorable, and students and others have the right to say as much,' the task force wrote. 'However, 'criticism' does not justify intimidation, exclusion, bullying or harassment of members of our community.' Mass. Rep. Auchincloss on how Harvard can 'Punch the bully in the nose' | John L. Micek 'My face was on the ... truck': Harvard report details climate of fear for pro-Palestine students 'Willing to capitulate': Cracks emerge in Harvard's resistance to Trump over DEI Trump's cuts now getting personal | Paul Chiampa Read the original article on MassLive.
Axios
29-04-2025
- Politics
- Axios
Harvard president "sorry" after reports on antisemitism, Islamophobia
Harvard University's president apologized and vowed to make changes after two internal reports on antisemitism and anti-Arab bias were released Tuesday. The big picture: The reports come as the Ivy League university is suing the Trump administration for freezing billions in federal funds in a battle that's officially about fighting antisemitism but has also become about governmental regulation of higher education. Driving the news: Task forces composed of faculty and some students released final reports, which were commissioned by the university, on Tuesday — one on campus antisemitism and another on anti-Muslim, Anti-Arab, and Anti-Palestinian bias. The first report found antisemitism to be present on campus, through class work and academic programs, in social settings and in hiring faculty. The Islamaophobia report found that 92% of surveyed Muslims believe they'd face academic or professional consequences for expressing their political beliefs. "Separately and together, the task force reports reveal aspects of a charged period in our recent history, offering searing personal accounts as they hold up a mirror to our interactions with one another," said Harvard President Alan Garber, who convened the task forces, on Tuesday. What they're saying:"I am sorry for the moments when we failed to meet the high expectations we rightfully set for our community," Garber said in a letter accompanying the reports on the previous academic year. "Separately and together, the task force reports reveal aspects of a charged period in our recent history, offering searing personal accounts as they hold up a mirror to our interactions with one another." Garber called the 2023-24 academic year "disappointing and painful" and said the Israel-Hamar war brought long-simmering tensions to the surface. He said the university has made "necessary changes and essential progress" over the past year but vowed to take further action to address tensions, saying "Harvard cannot — and will not — abide bigotry."
Yahoo
07-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
UCLA students had visas revoked by US government, chancellor says
The Brief UCLA Chancellor Julio Frenk announced that the U.S. government revoked the visas of six current and six former students. The revocations follow an executive order by President Trump targeting students involved in pro-Palestinian protests. Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed 300 visa revocations impacting several California schools. LOS ANGELES - UCLA Chancellor Julio Frenk announced that the U.S. government has revoked the visas of six current and six former students participating in a training program, raising concerns within the UCLA community as calls for action and support for affected students grow. What we know The visa revocations occurred following a routine audit of SEVIS records, with terminations attributed to violations of visa program terms, Frenk said in a letter sent to the UCLA community on Sunday. "The termination notices indicate that all terminations were due to violations of the terms of the individuals' visa programs. At this time, UCLA is not aware of any federal law enforcement activity on campus related to these terminations," he wrote. The Backstory The revocations follow an executive order by President Donald Trump threatening visa revocations for students involved in pro-Palestinian protests amid the Israel-Hamas conflict. SUGGESTED: Hamas: Israeli airstrikes put hostages at risk as ceasefire breaks down Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the revocation of 300 international student visas, affecting several California schools, including UCLA. What they're saying The Task Force on Anti-Palestinian, Anti-Arab, and Anti-Muslim Racism, co-chaired by Gaye Theresa Johnson and Sherene Razack, expressed alarm over UCLA's response to the visa revocations. They urged the administration to take protective measures for affected students and challenge the Department of Homeland Security's actions. SUGGESTED: Two pro-Palestinian student groups suspended at UCLA "We write as the Task Force on Anti-Palestinian, Anti-Arab, and Anti- Muslim Racism to express our growing alarm regarding UCLA's response to the recent revocation of visas held by nine UCLA international students. These revocations follow similar and more extreme actions nation-wide, such as termination of legal status for international students and scholars on visas, and detention and deportation of international students without warning. Students who have spoken in support of Palestinian human rights have been specifically targeted, as have students from countries that the Federal government has deemed to be adversaries of the United States," the letter states. "... With no comment or instruction from the UCLA administration thus far, there is growing concern that students are unprotected." What's next Frenk advised UCLA students to visit online resources such as: UCLA's Undocumented Student Program UC Immigrant Services Legal Center UCLA's Dashew Center for International Students and Scholars The chancellor said he would continue to meet with UC President Michael Drake and other UC chancellors to prepare for and respond to any federal policy changes. He said he is also in constant contact with senior campus leaders. SUGGESTED: Federal antisemitism task force to visit UCLA, USC campuses months after protests Frenk assured the community that the administration is "committed to supporting our students as we abide by the law. The Source Information for this story is from a letter published by UCLA Chancellor Julio Frenk on April 6, 2025.
