Thousands sign letter urging Harvard not to capitulate to Trump administration’s demands

The letter urges Harvard University to safeguard its independence and maintain political neutrality

A sign supporting Harvard University, amid ongoing tensions between the institution and US President Donald Trump's administration, stands outside a home in the greater Boston area town of Watertown, Massachusetts, on 12 August 2025 (Brian Snyder/Reuters)

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“We urge you: Do not give in,” reads a recent petition to Harvard University president Alan Garber.

The letter, created on 1 August, urges Harvard not to follow in the footsteps of other Ivy League schools like Columbia University and Brown University, which reached deals with the Trump administration to restore cancelled federal funding.

It has since been signed by 14,000 students, staff, alumni, and members of the public.

The letter was spearheaded by a new Harvard alumni group called Crimson Courage, which describes itself as “standing up for academic freedom and constitutional rights”.

Their petition asks the Massachusetts-based university to ensure that it does not treat its students and staff differently based on their political views.

In July, Columbia’s dean of undergraduate admissions said the university would be considering prospective students' civility when making admissions decisions.

Yet last month, Columbia suspended or expelled almost 80 students - equivalent to nearly one percent of its undergraduate student body - for holding a pro-Palestine teach-in at a university library, causing some to question what constitutes "civility" at Columbia.

The Crimson Courage petition also asks Harvard to reject attempts to infringe on its independence and protect international students.

There will be an estimated 30-40 percent fewer international students starting at US universities in the fall due to the Trump administration’s increased restrictions.

Harvard has taken a more confrontational approach to the Trump administration’s attacks on elite universities, suing the Trump administration directly in May.

In response, the administration froze over $2bn in federal funds and accused Harvard of violating the Civil Rights Act by allegedly allowing pro-Palestine protesters to infringe on the rights of Jewish students.

On Wednesday, the Associated Press reported that Harvard was nearing a deal with the Trump administration to restore access to federal funding.

The deal would involve Harvard paying the Trump administration $500m in return for receiving access to the frozen funds and an end to antisemitism investigations.

Domino effect

Universities in the US have faced immense scrutiny since the pro-Palestine student encampments began last spring at the Columbia University campus, which helped catalyse a nationwide student movement over university investments in companies invested in Israel's military industrial complex.

Before Trump came into office the second time in January, the protests at Columbia were vilified by the Biden administration and labelled "antisemitic", a narrative that the Trump

Harvard battles Trump administration in court over $2.6bn funding cut

administration has continued and amplified further through deporting non-citizen students who took part in protests.

Universities have been condemned for failing to protect Jewish students despite there being little to no proof that the encampments, made up of many Jewish students themselves, posed a threat to Jewish life on campuses.

Widely seen as a trendsetter across higher education, some worry that a capitulation from Harvard to Trump’s demands could prompt other universities to do the same.

Some scholars have criticised the “Palestine exception” to free speech at Harvard.

In June, the Harvard Educational Review suddenly cancelled a special edition of the publication dedicated to “education and Palestine”.

The special issue, cancelled shortly before its planned publication, would have discussed the destruction of every single university in the Gaza Strip during Israel’s genocide there.

In an open letter published on Thursday, over 465 scholars decried the Harvard Education Publishing Group’s decision to cancel the issue.

“The decision by HEPG to abandon their own institutional mission - as well as the responsibilities that their world-leading stature demands - is scholasticide in action”, the petition reads.

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