Harvard University filed a federal lawsuit suing the Trump Administration to stop $2.2 billion in grants from being paused. The 51-page lawsuit was filed in Boston on Monday, and could set a new precedent on limits, or lack thereof, for the Trump administrations crack down on colleges nationwide.
How have other schools responded?
The Association of American Colleges and Universities (AACU) released a statement on Tuesday. The AACU said, “Our colleges and universities share a commitment to serve as centers of open inquiry where, in their pursuit of truth, faculty, students, and staff are free to exchange ideas and opinions across a full range of viewpoints without fear of retribution, censorship, or deportation.”
To join Harvard, presidents of historic universities such as Northwestern, Columbia University, Yale University and many more all signed the petition.
What does this mean for Washington schools and Central Washington University?
Many Washington schools have already signed the petition, the list including: University of Puget Sound, University of Washington, Whitman College, Seattle University, Seattle Colleges, North Seattle College, The Evergreen State College, Centralia College, Highline College, Peninsula College, Pierce College, Renton technical College, Antioch College and Pacific Lutheran University.
Central Washington University, Washington State University, Eastern Washington University and Western Washington are some of the larger colleges in the state whose signatures were notably absent from the petition.
At the time of writing this, CWU has complied with almost all of the Trump Administration’s requests that have been presented thus far. The school has removed diversity, equity and inclusion from the slogan and mission statement, as well as reimagining past DEI policies. A mass email had also been sent out in regards to two student’s visa status’s changing. The institution has yet to speak in support of the schools who have signed the petition or push back against the changes being made by the Trump administration.
What was the original lawsuit?-
The lawsuit was filed as a result of a variety of demands made by the Trump Administration against Harvard. The demands for Harvard included auditing viewpoints of the student body, faculty and staff to reduce the power that they may hold due to their ideological viewpoints, removing diversity, equity and inclusion programs, and enacting merit-based hiring. The presidential administration also put an emphasis on demands to crack down on anti-semitism in higher education following the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.
At the time of writing this, the Trump Administration has yet to comment on the lawsuit.
Harvard refused to comply with these demands due to the institution’s beliefs that these demands are an infringement on the first amendment, and are strictly illegal.
According to the Harvard Gazette, “The University will not surrender its independence or relinquish its constitutional rights,” Harvard President Alan Garber wrote in a message to the community. He added: “No government — regardless of which party is in power — should dictate what private universities can teach, whom they can admit and hire, and which areas of study and inquiry they can pursue.”
Following the Ivy League speaking out, Trump announced a removal of $9 billion in research funds. The Harvard Magazine stated that these funds cover “radiation exposure, ALS diagnostics, and tuberculosis treatment.”
How does this impact Harvard?
“Top researchers at Harvard University are warning that President Donald Trump’s funding freeze might lead to the deaths of their research animals,” Taylor Romine, Lex Harvey, Chris Boyette and Lauren Mascarenhas, writers at CNN, said.
The research animals that are included in the research are in consideration of being euthanized due to the inability to continue the research that has already started.
Prior to the lawsuit, the institution announced in March that they would be giving free tuition to those whose families make $100,000 or less a year. It was intended to start in the 2025-2026 school year, and at this point it is still unclear if the free tuition will be granted.
