Crimson Tide
It’s gonna be a while before we experience a blue wave in America. But we may be witnessing the beginning of a crimson wave (yes, it’s reddish, but a little added purple is a start). Breaking a dangerous and depressing trend led by Columbia, Harvard rejected the demands of the Trump administration. NYT (Gift Article): Harvard’s Decision to Resist Trump Is ‘of Momentous Significance.’ “Harvard University is 140 years older than the United States, has an endowment greater than the G.D.P. of nearly 100 countries and has educated eight American presidents. So if an institution was going to stand up to the Trump administration’s war on academia, Harvard would be at the top of the list. Harvard did that forcefully on Monday in a way that injected energy into other universities across the country fearful of the president’s wrath, rejecting the Trump administration’s demands on hiring, admissions and curriculum. Some commentators went so far as to say that Harvard’s decision would empower law firms, the courts, the media and other targets of the White House to push back as well.” The fact that Harvard’s refusal to kowtow to a budding dictator is described as a choice of momentous significance tells us just how fast and far our institutions have fallen. How momentous the decision will prove to be depends on how many other institutions and individuals follow suit. This is a fight the sharks in the administration want and they smell blood in the water. To win, Harvard and the rest of us are gonna need a bigger boat.
+ “Harvard has set an example for other higher-ed institutions – rejecting an unlawful and ham-handed attempt to stifle academic freedom, while taking concrete steps to make sure all students at Harvard can benefit from an environment of intellectual inquiry, rigorous debate and mutual respect.Let’s hope other institutions follow suit.” Obama and Yale faculty back Harvard.
+ Trump administration freezes more than $2.2 billion after Harvard rejects its demands. And, Trump threatens to revoke Harvard’s tax-exempt status.
+ Life’s Capitch and Then You Die. “Harvard is changing course, perhaps because it grasped the true takeaway from Columbia’s cautionary tale: Appeasement doesn’t work, because the Trump administration isn’t really trying to reform elite higher education. It’s trying to break it.” The Atlantic (Gift Article): What Harvard Learned From Columbia’s Mistake. “If cooperation and even capitulation don’t get you anywhere, why give in to the Trump administration’s demands?”
