CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (AP) — Harvard University is set to hold its commencement ceremony on Thursday amid a crucial time where its status as a premier institution in global higher education seems increasingly challenged by threats from the Trump administration.
Various colleges confront the risks of losing federal funds and the chance to accept international students unless they comply with the Trump administration’s changing requirements. However, Harvard, established in 1636, long before the United States was formed, is spearheading efforts to challenge the federal government’s directives in court, facing substantial repercussions as a result.
The latest actions from the Trump administration demand that federal agencies terminate approximately $100 million in contracts with the renowned Ivy League school. The administration has already revoked over $2.6 billion in federal research grants, initiated actions to block Harvard’s enrollment of international students, and threatened the university’s tax-exempt status.
Visa interviews for international students admitted to schools nationwide were halted on Tuesday, and Trump said Wednesday that Harvard should reduce its international enrollment from 25% to about 15%.
Sustained by a $53 billion endowment, the nation’s oldest and wealthiest university is testing whether it can be a bulwark against Trump’s efforts to limit what it calls antisemitic activism on campus, which Harvard sees as an affront to the freedom to teach and learn nationwide.
The Trump administration has demanded Harvard enact broad government and leadership reforms and changes to its admissions policies. It also demanded the university audit views of diversity on campus and stop recognizing some student clubs.
Dr. Abraham Verghese, the bestselling author and Stanford expert on infectious diseases, will be the principal speaker at the university’s 374th commencement. On Wednesday, NBA Hall of Famer and activist Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was the “Class Day” speaker, and journalist Christiane Amanpour addressed graduates of Harvard’s Kennedy School.
Both praised Harvard for standing up to the Trump administration, with Abdul-Jabbar specifically calling out the actions of Harvard President Alan Garber.
“When a tyrannical administration tried to bully and threaten Harvard, to revoke their academic freedom and to destroy free speech, Dr. Alan Garber rejected the illegal and immoral pressures,” Abdul-Jabbar said to wide applause as he compared Garber’s response to Rosa Parks’ stand against racist segregation.
“After seeing so many cowering billionaires, media moguls, law firms, politicians and other universities bend their knee to an administration that is systematically strip-mining the U.S. Constitution, it is inspiring to me to see Harvard University take a stand for freedom,” he continued.
In response to the administration’s threats, Harvard has sued to block the funding freeze and persuaded a federal judge to temporarily halt the enrollment ban. It is going to court in Boston on Thursday just as the commencement is wrapping up, hoping for a ruling that allows it to continue enrolling international students.
“We believe that the government overreach and devastating attacks on scientific and medical research are unwarranted and unlawful, and so we have taken legal action to defend the institution,” Garber said in an interview with a university publication.
“We should all be concerned that colleges and universities have increasingly come under attack. But we should not dismiss the criticisms even when they are based on distortions or inaccuracies — we need to look for the underlying concerns that can be embedded in them,” said Garber, who commissioned internal reports last year on antisemitism and anti-Arab prejudice at the Ivy League campus.
The Trump administration has said it wants “to protect American students and faculty from antisemitic violence and harassment.” It cites campus protests against Israel. Like many college students around the country, Harvard students set up tents called on the university to divest from companies supporting Israel’s military, which has leveled Gaza in response to attacks by Hamas.
Last year, hundreds of graduating students walked out of commencement chanting “Free, free Palestine” after weeks of campus protests. Harvard also said some protesters would not receive diplomas alongside their classmates, although it eventually allowed most to get them.
This year, the anti-war demonstrations have largely faded from view, but protesters plan a silent vigil before Thursday’s ceremony.
“As a graduate of Harvard, I am horrified by Israel’s mass murder of Palestinians (including by deliberate starvation), its total leveling of Gaza, its targeting of hospitals, its assaults on Palestinian educational and cultural institutions, and its relentless killings of journalists,” Harvard graduate Victor Wallis explained in a statement.
