Harvard protects their students from the Trump Administration
By: Deborah Adesipo and Eri'yana Blount
On April 22, 2025, Trump's administration froze Harvard’s research funding and threatened to revoke their tax-exempt status because it said the university was not meeting its standards. They also threatened the status of their international students. Harvard argues that this violates their First Amendment rights. The Trump administration accuses Harvard of failing to protect Jewish students.
Harvard filed a lawsuit against the federal government. Harvard argues that freezing the federal funding violates the First Amendment, and they didn’t go through the federal procedures.
“Universities do have the authority to protect their students, to keep them safe, to keep their campuses and their student bodies orderly," said Mr. Mitchell, Law teacher at E&S. "But outside of that, you know, if a student or an organization simply has a controversial opinion, or they're talking about a nation that's engaging in things like human rights violations or genocide, or war crimes.”
The defunding of Harvard would affect the students incredibly because Harvard would be forced to cut financial aid. If the administration wins, it could tamper with institutional independence and academic freedom.
“If Harvard wins, it could reinforce that universities shouldn’t have to change their policies based on political pressure," said Mr. Shelansky. But if Trump’s side wins, it could open the door for the government to have way more say in how colleges operate. It would usher in an era of facing state-led education, the kind you see in autocratic countries."
The Trump administration demanded that Harvard hire on a merit basis and cancel preferences based on sex, race, color, religion, and national origin. They also demand to reform the international student requirements.
“By August 2025, the University must adopt and implement merit-based hiring policies, and cease all preferences based on race, color, religion, sex,or national origin throughout its hiring, promotion, compensation, and related practice among faculty, staff and leadership," said Josh Gruenbaum, Comm’r of the Fed. Acquisition Serv.
The legal battles surrounding these issues may also influence future policies and protections related to free speech in education. Court decisions here could either reinforce or weaken the safeguards that allow open expression on campus.
“It might open the door to more lawsuits about free speech and funding. Like, if the government can defund schools for political reasons, that could be used in all sorts of ways. But if the courts say that’s not okay, it could help protect freedom of speech on campus more clearly going forward,” According to Aniya Blackshear, a senior at Northeast High.
While universities do have the right to set regulations to protect their community, external pressures can create a difficult balancing act. If institutions are being told how to act just to secure funding, it raises questions about their ability to uphold their values independently.
“Harvard also has the right to set rules and protect how people see them, especially when it comes to hate speech or stuff that could harm others. But if they’re being told to act a certain way just to avoid losing money, it kind of puts them in a tough spot between doing what’s right for their community and keeping the government happy.” Aniya Blackshear, a senior at Northeast High said.
For students and individuals who aren’t deeply involved in politics, these debates can still feel very relevant. The outcome could shape the environment in which students learn, share ideas, and find their voice.
“ Even if I’m not super into politics, this kind of stuff definitely feels like it could affect people like me, students just trying to learn and figure out our place in the world.” Aniya Blackshear said who is a senior in Northeast high.
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