Promises made, promises kept. Donald Trump is nothing if not forward when it comes to his plans. The president campaigned on tightening the screws on American universities amid chaotic campus protests over the war in Gaza. He promised to deport, in his words, “pro-Hamas radicals.”
In recent weeks, over 1,500 international students have had their visas revoked. Earlier this month, the administration sent a letter to Harvard demanding a number of changes, including “reforming programs with egregious records of antisemitism” and increasing “viewpoint diversity.” In following its now-standard negotiating formula, the administration insists that failure to comply will result in loss of federal funding—the university has already seen billions frozen. In a massive escalation the government is now mulling revoking Harvard’s nonprofit status.
Agree or disagree, the substance of the letter is not the core problem. In fact, we actually agree with some of its stated aims. Yet, more importantly, we believe that this letter and the effort behind it represent a massive federal government invasion into the realm of free expression…
