Dive Brief:
- The Trump administration’s antisemitism task force on Tuesday terminated another $450 million of Harvard University’s research grants from eight federal agencies, further escalating the federal government’s fight with the nation’s oldest and wealthiest higher education institution.
- In its announcement, the task force levied many of the same accusations against the Ivy League institution as it has previously, alleging the university has become “a breeding ground for virtue signaling and discrimination.” The new cancellations are on top of $2.2 billion worth of federal grants frozen last month.
- The news comes a day after Harvard President Alan Garber wrote a letter to U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon arguing the university’s efforts to address issues like antisemitism are undermined by “the federal government’s overreach.” Garber’s letter responded to McMahon’s announcement earlier this month that the university would be cut off from all future federal research grants.
Dive Insight:
Harvard has been mounting a legal challenge against the Trump administration, accusing it of withholding funding to gain control over the institution’s academic decisions. At the same time, the university has been reckoning internally with heightened campus tensions in the wake of the Israel-Hamas war.
Late last month, two of the university’s own task forces released long-awaited reports that found Jewish, Israeli, Zionist, Muslim, Arab and Palestinian students and employees all frequently felt discomfort and alienation on the Ivy League institution’s campus during the 2023-24 academic year.
The twin reports stemmed from dozens of listening sessions held last year and the results from a university-wide survey that collected around 2,300 responses.
The survey found that 54% of Jewish respondents and 74% of Muslim respondents felt uncomfortable expressing their opinions at Harvard. Meanwhile, 40% of Jewish respondents and 71% of Muslim respondents said they’ve experienced “discrimination, stereotyping, or negative biases” due to their views about current events.
According to Harvard’s listening surveys, the campus climate deteriorated rapidly in the aftermath of the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel by Hamas. A significant number of Jewish students reported “a more hostile campus atmosphere” especially in residences and classrooms and among student organizations. Israeli students said they frequently were socially shunned.
Some Jewish students who identified as anti-Zionist also said they were shunned and bullied by some pro-Palestinian students.
Muslim, Arab and Palestinian and pro-Palestinian students likewise said they frequently experienced bias and hate.
The report noted that pro-Palestinian students were particularly distressed by trucks driving through Harvard Square displaying images of them and labeling them as antisemitic and supporters of terrorism. Many students also shared accounts of being harassed online, as well as assaulted verbally or physically.
In Tuesday’s announcement, the Trump administration’s Joint Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism referenced the report examining the experiences of Jewish and Israeli students and employees on Harvard’s campus.
However, the Trump administration’s task force made no mention of Harvard’s findings about the experiences of Muslim, Arab and Palestinian students. And as the U.S. Department of Education has ramped up investigations into colleges over alleged antisemitism, the agency has not publicly made a similarly heightened effort thus far to address Islamophobia in either its statements or recently announced probes.
When asked about whether the agency plans to protect Muslim students in the same way it is attempting to protect Jewish students, an Education Department spokesperson pointed Higher Ed Dive to part of Tuesday’s announcement that said the task force “will not waver in its mission to root out discrimination, hate and bigotry at institutions entrusted with public funds.”
The task force also accused Harvard Law Review of having a “pattern of endemic race discrimination when evaluating articles” for publishing.
The Education Department and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services — both members of the antisemitism task force — recently launched a civil rights probe into the student-run publication.
The investigation comes after The Washington Free Beacon, a conservative online publication, reported late last month that Harvard Law Review considers race and diversity in nearly all stages of its process for selecting articles.
Harvard did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday.
The university is facing other new investigations from the federal government, according to documents obtained by the Free Beacon.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission reportedly launched a probe into the university late last month over whether it has been discriminating against employees and applicants who are White, Asian, straight or men. An EEOC spokesperson said Tuesday the agency cannot comment on investigations or confirm the existence of charges, citing federal law.
