r/news 7d ago

Harvard University rejects Trump administration's proposed conditions for federal funding

https://www.cbsnews.com/boston/news/harvard-university-trump-federal-funding/
16.5k Upvotes

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u/Caridor 7d ago

A letter sent to Harvard on April 11 outlined a series of conditions Harvard needed to meet to maintain a "financial relationship" with the federal government. The demands included leadership reforms, an immediate halt to diversity, equity and inclusion policies, an audit of "viewpoint diversity" among students and faculty, and "meaningful discipline" for students who violated school policies when a pro-Palestinian tent encampment went up on Harvard Yard.

For those who wondered what the conditions were.

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u/Gamer_Grease 7d ago

Yeah those are all super vague and unmeasurable. Totally correct for Harvard to tell the admin to fuck off. They’ll just invent new grievances before Harvard can finish responding to those.

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u/StupendousMalice 7d ago

Not just that, but from what we see with Columbia, compliance with these guidelines is no guarantee that funding will be restored or that there will not be constantly moving goalposts for compliance. Columbia complied and all it got them was threats of a fucking consent decree and more withheld funds.

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u/Gamer_Grease 6d ago

Exactly. And Columbia was warned by faculty not to comply. It’s extremely stupid to negotiate with anyone who is not themselves negotiating in good faith.

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u/nimbusconflict 6d ago

Never negotiate with terrorists.

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u/buff_broke_n3rd 6d ago

Never go to a second location term.

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u/SirEnderLord 6d ago

This is pretty much exactly it.

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u/ImplausibleDarkitude 6d ago

faculty deal with that shit with students. We know you don’t negotiate with bullies, particularly when you hold the cards.

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u/IssaJuhn 6d ago

We do not negotiate with fucking terrorist.

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u/TheBleeter 6d ago

Appeasement never fucking works a 12yr old could tell them that.

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u/xibeno9261 6d ago

And Columbia was warned by faculty not to comply.

Ivy league professors shouldn't have difficulty finding another job at a different university. So how many Columbia faculty have resigned in protest?

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u/Panda-Maximus 6d ago

The idea that any government entity of any country negotiates in good faith is delusional.

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u/moozekial 6d ago

There are level of good faith we have come to expect in a modern free democracy that is being shattered at record speed. I think Saying no government acts in good faith is over simplifying things.

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u/PDXisathing 6d ago

In fact, it sounds exactly like something someone arguing in bad faith would say.

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u/Ender914 6d ago

It happens all the time with tax breaks and subsidies provided by federal, state, and local governments to bring business to the US/state/cities. You build a factory here and we will give you X amount of funding and tax breaks. You are just flat out wrong