- WASHINGTON — The row between Harvard University and US President Donald
Trump escalated further after the elite university refused to accept
far-reaching policy changes ordered by the White House, and Trump threatened to
strip it of its tax-exempt status.
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- As it is Harvard University is facing a major financial
setback after the Trump administration imposed a freeze on $2.2 billion in
federal funding, following the university’s refusal to comply with a list of
sweeping demands related to governance, campus policies, and civil rights
enforcement.
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- Now, Trump has said that Harvard "should lose its
Tax Exempt Status and be Taxed as a Political Entity" if the premier
college does not agree to his demands to change how it runs itself, which would
include a selection of students and authority for professors.
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- Tax-exempt status is "totally contingent on acting
in the PUBLIC INTEREST," he said in the post on Truth Social.
Related: Federal funding frozen for Harvard after clash with Trump administration
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- The demands, originally issued in early April, called for
the dismantling of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) offices, cooperation
with immigration authorities in screening international students, and sweeping
reforms to hiring, admissions, and internal governance.
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- On Friday, the Trump administration escalated the
situation by sending a more detailed list of requirements, including an audit
of student and faculty political views.
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- Harvard responded by publishing the letter and rejecting
the proposed terms.
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- In a public letter addressed to students and faculty,
Harvard President Alan Garber affirmed the university’s refusal to yield to
government pressure. “We will not negotiate over our independence or
constitutional rights,” Garber wrote. “No government should control what a
private university teaches or whom it hires and admits.”
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- The Trump administration’s Joint Task Force to Combat
Anti-Semitism responded by announcing the suspension of multi-year federal
grants totaling $2.2 billion and a halt on $60 million in existing government
contracts.
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- The task force criticised Harvard’s position, stating,
“Harvard’s response today reflects a mindset of entitlement that must be
addressed. Taxpayer funding carries with it the duty to uphold civil rights
protections.”
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- The move comes in the wake of rising tensions on US
campuses, many of which have been rocked by protests over the Hamas-Israel war
in Gaza.
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- Several demonstrations escalated into confrontations with
law enforcement and counter-protesters.
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- Critics, including President Donald Trump and several
Republican lawmakers, have accused student protesters of supporting Hamas,
which the US government and many other governments around the world designate
as a terrorist organisation.
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