The Trump administration has sent a letter to Harvard University containing several rules, including admission policies, face mask requirements, and guidelines for recognizing and funding student groups and clubs, that the government aims to enforce within Harvard University.
In the letter, Harvard University has refused to comply with the government’s new rules, which led to a freeze on $2.2 billion in federal grants to the university, and has also threatened to forfeit nearly $9 billion that the administration has given to Harvard University.
Then, in an address to the school by Alan M. Garber, a former 1976 student and current president of Harvard University, he made it clear that no ruling government, no matter which party it belongs to, can decide what the university should teach, what the rules for admitting students are, or what methods it should use to investigate who it should employ and who it should not employ. Not only that, Garber also pointed out that the demands put forth by the government are contrary to the university’s First Amendment and violate it.
According to the report presented by The Mirror, Allen said in his address that “teaching and learning are not going to be controlled and achieved by the way we work and by the assertion of power.” At the same time, Garber said, “It’s our job to start the work of overcoming our shortcomings and fulfilling our commitment and embodying our values.”