Harvard University, The Trump Administration, Free Speech and the Sinister Menace of Autocratic Politics!

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Ample sighs of unrestrained relief frantically cascaded throughout multiple segments of the higher education community upon Harvard University’s refusal to capitulate to the Trump administration’s demands that essentially would have amounted to an autocratic takeover of America’s oldest higher education institution. Indeed, on April 14, Harvard defied Trump’s threat to cut federal funding aid and announced on Monday that the university would not surrender its independence or relinquish its constitutional rights. Harvard President Alan M. Garber wrote, “Neither Harvard nor any other private university can allow itself to be taken over by the federal government. The University will not surrender its independence or its constitutional rights.” Hallelujah was the word of choice among more than a few people across many professions.

Notably, Princeton President Christopher Eisgruber stated that he would refuse to surrender to the administration. Michael Roth, president of Wesleyan University and a perennial outspoken critic of the Trump administration’s directives to colleges, applauded Harvard’s position. “Federal funding for universities must not depend on a loyalty oath,” Roth said in a statement. Stanford is also prepared not to comply. The faculty council at Indiana…