The government has frozen 2.2 billion dollars in state grants. The stoppage of the support was announced a few hours after Harvard's rector rejected a list of comprehensive demands intended to combat anti-Semitism on campus, according to the Trump administration.
Donald Trump writes on Truth Social on Tuesday that Harvard can be stripped of its tax-exempt status and instead be taxed as a political organization.
The demands from the government involve, among other things, changes in governance, recruitment procedures, and admission processes, thereby expanding the previous list that American universities received on April 3. Then, officials were ordered to close diversity offices and collaborate with immigration authorities to review foreign students.
Harvard's rector, Alan Garber, writes in a letter to students and teachers that the private school does not "negotiate its independence and constitutional rights". He emphasizes that Harvard has already taken comprehensive measures to address anti-Semitism.
In March, the Education Department announced that 60 colleges and universities are being investigated for alleged "anti-Semitic harassment and discrimination". This is happening in the light of last year's student protests against the Gaza war, which in some cases led to violent clashes between police and activists.
