() Disagreements about Harvard University’s policies continue, even as the academic institution gained a legal edge Thursday in its battle with the Trump administration over international students.
A federal judge Thursday extended an order blocking the Trump administration’s attempt to bar Harvard University from enrolling international students, part of a wider fight between the president and the Ivy League school.
Brooke Goldstein, executive director of the pro-Israel Lawfare Project, faults Harvard for not cooperating with the Department of Homeland Security, which has sought information from Harvard about its international students.
“Having a student-exchange and visa program, being able to import students from abroad, is a privilege. It’s not a right, and it comes with a lot of responsibilities,” Goldstein told “ Now” Thursday. “And No. 1 (in) that responsibility is transparency.”
Critics have said Harvard has tolerated an environment in which Jewish students feel afraid in the wake of the Israel-Hamas war. The Trump administration has targeted international students whom officials say are supporting Hamas or working counter to U.S. foreign policy interests.
Harvard history professor Maya Jasanoff said criticisms of Harvard’s shortcomings have been overblown. She says the Trump administration is effectively trying to “seize” control of the institution for political reasons.
“Transparency and the rule of law are vital to this country,” Jasonoff said, “but what we’re seeing here is a wild overreach that goes way beyond any recognizable rule of law for political purposes.”
In his continuing fight with Harvard, Trump has frozen billions in federal funding and has suggested the university’s tax-exempt status should be revoked. One Harvard professor, Steven Pinker, recently suggested the president may be suffering from “Harvard Derangement Syndrome.”
