Harvard Announces It Will Defy Trump Order to Cut DEI Programs and Expel Pro-Palestinian Protestors
Harvard Announces It Will Defy Trump Order to Cut DEI Programs and Expel Pro-Palestinian Protestors
FINALLY. One university with the balls to stand up to Trump.
I don't think all the people I was telling understand how much money Harvard has.
It's ... Way way more than it appears on paper.
They have, over the last 40 years or so, systematically bought commercial real estate in Boston, left it vacant to devalue the housing property in the neighborhood, then bought houses in the neighborhoods, bulldozed, expanded. They own way more of Allston than people realize. Let's not even talk about their endowment, which can pay for all students tuition on interest alone.
Here's a fun one.
42.3580140, -71.1385711
Try and figure out what that building is, who owns it, what it's for. It's like 5 acres. In the middle of a major capital city.
Yeah. Good luck. (P.S. it's Harvard)
Now note proximity to Harvard Stadium.
Harvard runs shit. In broad daylight secrecy. Within a democratic stronghold.
What’s the point of sitting on a $53B endowment if you’re not going to use it? Losing $9B in contracts to fight fascism is worth every penny.
Donald Trump proposed taxing large private university endowments as part of his 2024 election campaign.
This tax aims to fund the creation of the "American Academy," a new institution designed to provide free, high-quality educational content. The tax would target excessively large endowments, collecting billions of dollars to support this initiative
This proposal is part of a broader effort to reshape higher education and address political controversies within universities. The tax on endowment investment income could significantly impact universities with large endowments.
Columbia looking twice as pathetic now. I hope this catches on.
Dartmouth too. One of trump's rnc ghouls is working with her directly.
Likely because their endowment is large enough to not need federal funds.
I don't think Columbia's hard up for cash either, but they folded like a cardboard lawn chair
They have "Russian asset go fuck yourself" money.
Georgetown has been out ahead of this for weeks. But they get no press because they're (a) not Harvard and (b) not humiliating themselves in compliance rituals like Columbia, so they aren't as exciting to cover.
You've also got schools down in Texas - A&M and UT particularly - that have already been fully integrated into Governor Abbott's brand of Lone Star Fascism that there's little to report. Just a bunch of admins saying, in thick German accents, that everything is normal and there's nothing to see.
The Government will retaliate. I wonder if all intentional students will now be under a watchful eye
They already have been.
I do not believe someone ever said once "hey wait a minute did I woke up in Harvard? That wasn't the plan at all?!"
Didn't require balls, mate. Don't glorify them doing the bare minimum.
They have the largest academic endowment in the world. All of their students could go there for free for basically forever but they still collect tuition. Somehow they're brave because of this though.
$9B is still a lot of money, plus you know more spite is coming - turnipas ego doesn’t like to be told no
The letter that they sent Harvard was mental. Demanding wholesale replacement of the staff and students, removing the human rights curriculum, removing any cultural studies, a full mask ban bc only ICE get to wear masks now apparently, and a tattletale hotline. That letter is so up its own ass. Glad they published it.
Harvard has its own issues of course, but don't let that distract you from the fact that this thing it's done is the right thing.
An insane list of demands like that should fall under the "We don't negotiate with terrorists" clause right?
Well, an insane list of demands aimed at an international school that derives a huge amount of its income from foreign students and a reputation as a global leader in law and commerce. Harvard's admins aren't "Going Woke". They're going into survival mode.
They're also likely looking at the bloodbath at Columbia as the admin over there bend itself into a pretzel to comply with these demands, gets their funding gutted anyway, and turns the student body into either El Salvadorian inmates or white nationalist freaks. Clearly there's no upside to compliance. Trump never goes away, he just comes back with a longer and more vile list of demands.
Well they have balls not like other universities
One would hope that the wealthiest university in the country would have the minerals to tell the Trump regime to piss off.
It's a good start.
Collectivists supporting billionaires and running defense for them online in 3...2...1
The stunlock intensifies
If all the universities came together and told Trump to shove those demands up his ass, that would be historic but instead they chose to be cowards like the big tech not realizing that they don't serve the president but the president should serve them.
Who wants to take bets that Donald was rejected from Harvard in past?
I don’t agree with Harvard (DEI & Pro-Palestinian protests), but I support them defying this order. They’re a private institution, the government is overstepping here.
I don’t agree with Harvard (DEI & Pro-Palestinian protests), but I support them defying this order.
Wait, so you... both think they should not have DEI programs and should expel pro-palestinian protestors, but you also think they should defy the government order telling them to do what you think they should do?
I'm not sure what the guy you're responding to's actual position is.
But from an objective standpoint, he could disagree with Harvard's DEI policies but still support Harvard's defiance of Trump because the DEI policies should be Harvard's choice to make, not Trump's.
Basically a variant of the saying "I disagree with what you say but defend your right to say it."
Person wants to ride all the highs, no consequences.
Just wanted to stop by and express my disappointment for the down votes. I disagree with you strongly on the policies, but I deeply respect your commitment to actual free speech, and I hope you hold that same energy when it comes to due process rights.
This type of "we must tolerate the intolerant" energy is how Reddit became neo-fascist. First being against DEI and Palestinians is a heinous political position. Second of all people who are against DEI believe it's racism, if he's okay with private institutions using what he believes are racist policies, that's a heinous position.
What you're basically reading is: "I'm a racist, and I think private institutions should be able to have policies I think are racist"
Yeah that's a no from me.
How about a not hiring example: A class in Urban Ecology and Planning will have a component on equity and inclusion. Historically, marginalized people were subjected to more pollution, more waste, and even evicted to create services and goods for other people. The notion that everyone is a citizen and deserves thoughtful design, access to public services, and equal burden of pollution is a relatively recent idea.
These orders make those discussions go away. Those considerations in planning and design are "divisive" and support "anti American values". Although that is not the real reason, the real reason is to go back to the way it was before.
Wheelchair access is DEI. Services for the deaf is DEI. Understanding the impact of diesel corridor pollution is DEI. They do not want you to waste resources and time on trying to do better, because it is not better for them.