Harvard University filed a lawsuit on Monday to stop the freezing of funds imposed on school by President Donald Trump and his administration, which intensifies the dispute between Harvard and Trump’s administration for Harvard’s refusal to meet the demands sent by the Government.
Key data
Harvard president Alan Garber, said in a statement on Monday night that the freezing of funds is “illegal and is beyond the authority of the government.”
“The consequences of government excesses will be serious and lasting,” Garber continued, noting that Trump’s actions and threats have “serious consequences in real life.”
The demand alleges that the government is “retaining … federal funds as a lever to gain control of academic decision making in Harvard”, and that its actions violate the first amendment, which does not allow the government to “interfere in the freedom of expression of private actors to promote their own vision of the ideological balance.”
The demand comes a week after the joint work group to combat the anti -Semitism of the Department of Education announced a freezing of 2.2 billion dollars in subsidies to Harvard, citing the “worrying mentality of law” of the school after the leadership refused to accept demands that included that the university made changes in its governance, admissions and hiring processes.
Cita Crucial
“Before taking punitive measures, the law requires that the federal government inform us about how we fight and continue to fight anti -Semitism,” Garber wrote on Monday. “On the other hand, the demands of the Government of April 11 seek to control who we hire and what we teach. Today, we defend the values they have made of American higher education a model for the world.”
Key history
The Trump government is investigating Harvard, along with 60 other universities and institutions of higher education, for accusations of anti -Semitism. Investigations have caused other top -level institutions to lose millions of dollars in federal subsidies and contracts. The Trump government sent a letter to Harvard on April 11, accusing it of not complying with the conditions of intellectual and civil rights that justify federal investment. The letter asked Harvard to accept implementing significant reforms of governance, adopt admission and hiring systems based on merit, discontinue programs of diversity, equity and inclusion and guarantee full transparency and cooperation with all federal regulators. The Harvard legal team responded to the letter stating being committed to the fight against anti -Semitism and other forms of intolerance in its community, but that the institution was not prepared to accept demands that exceed the legal authority of this or any administration. Since Harvard refused to accept, the Government has threatened to prohibit the registration of foreign students at the university and has demanded that Harvard reveal information about their foreign financing sources.
Tangent
In addition to freezing billions of dollars in funds for Harvard, Trump threatened to revoke his tax exemption status before the IRS. Exempt tax organizations can see their exemption for reasons such as activity in political campaigns, lobbying and breach of their annual declaration obligations. In a public publication on April 15, Trump said Harvard should lose his status “if he continues to promote the ‘disease’, inspired or supported by political, ideological and terrorist reasons.”
This article was originally published by Forbes Us.
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