Victor Davis Hanson
American Greatness
Harvard University has rejected various demands of a presidential commission on anti-Semitism.
The task force wants to persuade Harvard to ensure Jewish students on its campus are no longer harassed, or else lose its federal funding.
Harvard retorts that it won’t be bullied by Washington.
Among its other requirements, the Trump administration also warned Harvard to cease using race as a criterion in its admissions, hiring, and promotion, contrary to law.
And it also directed the campus to ban the use of masks that, in the post-COVID era of protests, have emboldened violent demonstrators with anonymity.
The administration’s order to stop race-based bias was in accordance with civil rights statutes, and a recent Supreme Court decision specifically banning affirmative action at Harvard and elsewhere.
No matter. Harvard claimed that the Trump administration infringed upon its First Amendment rights.
So, it has temporarily rejected the administration’s orders. At least for now, Harvard has lost its annual $2.2 billion grant of federal funds.
Former President Barack Obama, among others, lauded Harvard’s rejection of the demands of the administration’s anti-Semitism task force. He claimed the Trump administration’s efforts were ham-handed.
But what academic freedom are Harvard and Obama talking about? The freedom to discriminate and segregate by race in hiring, admissions, dorms, and graduations?
The freedom of 500 Harvard students to crash the classes of others, shut down traffic, and harass students on the basis of their religion or views on Israel?
Despite all of Harvard’s platitudes, its classrooms are still being disrupted. Jewish students remain fearful.
And what would Obama say if, for example, African-American students at Harvard were harassed on campus by masked disrupters?
Or black studies classes were crashed by students wearing scarves over their faces as they vented their hatred? Would he press the Trump administration to force Harvard to honor federal civil rights protections?
Remember, Harvard is a private university with a largely untaxed endowment of over $50.2 billion. Yet again, it still receives some $2.2 billion—now suspended—in federal funds.
The administration task force is not forcing Harvard to run its university according to its version of federal dictates.
Instead, the Trump commission is simply warning Harvard that if, in addition to its huge sources of private funding, it still wishes continuance of some $2.2 billion in public money from the federal government, then it must comply with existing laws and executive orders.
Does Harvard remember the embarrassing testimony of its former president, Claudine Gay?
She failed to assure a congressional committee that Harvard had taken action against openly hostile anti-Semitic student protestors during its growing protest movements.
Does Harvard understand why the Supreme Court ruled it had violated the “Equal Protection Clause” of the Fourteenth Amendment and was culpable of prejudice against Asian-Americans?
Does Harvard have any clue why it has lost some $150 million per annum of donor giving?
Does Harvard realize that no one believes its pretenses anymore that it “cannot and will not tolerate disruption” of classes—given that it still happens all the time at its various professional schools and undergraduate courses?
Perhaps Harvard should follow the strategy of independent Hillsdale College, which long ago wished to be free of federal dictates.
So, unlike Harvard, the college put its proverbial money where its mouth was and agreed unilaterally to give up all federal funding to be free of Washington’s octopus tentacles.
Yet, there is one critical distinction between Hillsdale and Harvard.
Hillsdale does not take federal money, period—whether doled out by either a Democrat or Republican administration.
It sincerely believes that too often the federal government itself does not follow the Constitution, impinges on freedom, and forces colleges to violate equality under the law when discriminating by race and gender.
Harvard has no such principles.
Its beef is not with the notion of an overweening federal government, eager to coerce private colleges to follow particular protocols.
Instead, it is at war only with the Trump commission or, in theory, any other similar conservative administration that might wish it to adhere to the law as a condition of being federally funded.
Otherwise, Harvard has no problem with an activist federal government, as long as it is a liberal one forcing all sorts of Title IX or DEI initiatives on private and Christian colleges that apparently lost their autonomy by accepting federal money. It has said nothing when state and federal governments in the past gratuitously hounded Hillsdale.
So, Harvard loudly can set itself free by permanently pursuing its agenda on its own $50 billion, in the same manner Hillsdale does quietly with its $1 billion—without the taxpayer’s dime, whether Democratic or Republican.
There is not a kid in school today that is going to need an education. I think all the education centers in the country should be tore down. We can do it now and save our children. Or our enemies will do it later after they take our country from us.
Thanks for writing this.
In regards to your recent video regarding the Harvard Law School;
In 2010, 11 members of the Muslim Student Union were arrested and subsequently charged and convicted for disrupting the speech of Israeli ambassador to the US, Michael Oren at UC Irvine. Being a part-time teacher at UC Irvine during that time, I was present at that disruption.
In 2012, during the annual May week of events at UC Irvine bashing Israel, 4 of the so-called “Irvine 11” returned to speak at UCI. What was interesting was not the fact that they expressed no regret for their actions, which I did not expect them to do, but one student in particular who had gone on to Harvard Law School told the audience that the Harvard dean had told him that he had noted the student’s participation in the “Irvine 11” incident, which the student apparently included in his application. The implication, according to the student, was that this incident was a positive factor in his being accepted. My postings about that 2012 event can be viewed at the links below:
https://garyfouse.blogspot.com/2012/05/day-4-uc-irvine-hate-week-irvine-11.html
https://garyfouse.blogspot.com/2013/04/irvine-11-arrogance-has-its-rewards.html
The destruction of the Ivy League schools and major institutions has to be intentional, right?! Why else would the left do it? It makes no sense.
She’s still drawing a momentous salary ‘teaching’ the same sort of crap she was practicing as ‘president’. She is not gone.
There is no exemption by either Harvard or Hillsdale from federal laws whether they accept federal money or not. The federal government has every right (and an obligation) to enforce its laws whether it provides funds or not. America is a lawless failing state and the paradigm of this rot is the disintegration that is so evidently occurring from the top down.
But she’s still there……TEACHING.
At least cream that has clabbered and soured has SOME valid uses. The arrogant and deluded Hahvahd swelled heads? NOT so much.
Harvard’s new motto: Mendacium.
I am thankful that I bought my “Harvard Classics Bookshelf” before their arrogance ruined their reputation.
Keffiyeh scarfs and masks are no different from the white KKK hoods!
Businesses hiring Harvard MBAs have deprogrammed business school graduates for decades. It used to be that you could count on Harvard graduates to be educably trainable by their new employer after leaving the MBA program because they were top students going into the program. Not so much anymore with all the woke DEI indoctrination they receive. I would rather hire the student who received solid “Cs” in the hard sciences and math than the straight “A” student with a degree in “(fill-in-the-subject) studies.”
You’re right Jim! Why would anyone hire a harvard graduate? Does anyone believe that the new employee would respect the employers business model? Tear down the accomplishments of others is their mantra!
VDH,
Harvard set itself free.
As Buddy Holly wrote after hearing John Wayne’s character “Ethan Edwards” repeatedly proclaim’s in the Classic Film “The Searcher.”
“That’ll Be The Day.”
Agree, Jim.
It appears Harvard and the rest of the Ivy League institutions took DEI to the max and hired leadership based not on cognitive aptitude but on a lesser metric. One that obviously led to their decline. They deserve a real hard, destructive landing. Hopefully, the rules are changed and they lose their long-standing tax status. May Prez Trump introduce them to the IRS.
Mr. Gibbs,
Yes, it’s curdled and, like milk, should be tossed out or maybe given to the pigs with their slop.
Oh wait, it is they who brought about the curdling.
We’re leaving 50% of our estate to Hillsdale.
What is the difference between the protest marches led by MLK in the 60s and the protests by students and others in support of one group or another? The answer is the MLK marches were non-violent by strategy and did not involve property destruction. And none of the protestors wore a mask to hide his identity. Those involved in the 60s marches were proud of what they were doing.
There is no reason that schools not bar masks at protests. Masked protestors should be informed of the school policy by uniformed officers and given a chance to unmask; failing that they should be arrested, booked, photographed and cited for a misdemeanor. Their booking photos and names should be publicly available.
Excellent comment, Mr. Oaf…
On my end, I fled academia in Lower Merion Township (Bryn Mawr, PA) because I couldn’t handle the response to the Michael Brown debacle.
Since then, I’ve been attempting to spell out the origins of Marxism in 90 Second Podcasts.
You might be interested:
https://rumble.com/v6s81xr-hegel-and-communism….html
In Honor of the Great Victor Davis Hanson
https://www.facebook.com/reel/1484623409179203
I am…
D. Bucky Lecker
Thank You VDH.
Words like hypocrisy and principle are worthless when commenting on the Left. Their only principle is power they can abuse.
Harvard is just a new version of Dem governor George Wallaces “segregation now, segregation tomorrow, and segregation forever” attitude. Federal civil rights laws be damned, we just want to be able to discriminate against whomever, whenever, and wherever we want!!
I’m wondering if a student admitted via dei quota has the same aptitude as the students who were admitted on merit? Seems like being set up to fail if you’re thrown to the wolves without the proper preparation when you could’ve done much better at another university. Or do they dumb down the curriculum to meet the lesser aptitude of those they need to admit on a percentage? Whatever the case it sure seems like they dint have the students interest at heart in any practical manner. Suppose that goes along with the leftist reality of words speak louder than actions.
Harvard thinks of itself as the HR Department for the Supreme Court, State & Justice Departments, the executive and most senior people on it. Who does this vulgar, populist billionaire think he is? Just because he won an election and has the law on his side? Harvard represents the self anointed, self proclaimed elite. The peasants need to remember that. They also need to remember their place. Send money & be silent.
What law mandates that we support private universities? They should exist on what they charge for tuition and private donors, period. They should be fined and prosecuted just like any American citizen or company when they break the law.
Leftists/progressives ruin everything they touch. The Ivy League used to stand for excellence, sadly, they have been ruined by leftist ideology. They truly ruin everything they touch.
I want our federal government to withdraw all funds from Harvard. The $50,000,000,000.. is that a billion? endowment should be taxed as regular income as they withdraw from it to pay their bills.
Dr Hansen and many others (including myself most of the time) address these sorts of issues with common sense and hope. Alas. No such things are possible in the dark world of the communist mind. The Frankfurt School target:
“We must organize the intellectuals and use them to make Western civilization stink! Only then, after they have corrupted all its values and made life impossible, can we impose the dictatorship of the proletariat.”
That’s what the communist intelligentsia has accomplished in the USA and elsewhere. There are pockets of peacefulness in deeply rural areas. But the ambiance of western civilization is clouded and embittered with the rotten critical race theory of the communist intelligentsia.
Millions of ordinary people are divided and riled and hustled and lied to in every working hour of every working day by teachers, preachers, bankers and government officials. Communist lies are now so pervasive, we accept them, smile ruefully and carry on. Really now, doesn’t it stink? Don’t you feel had?
name an institution that progressivism hasn’t destroyed? It always leads to death, poverty and destruction.
The crème de la crème has turned sour.
Their endowment should be taxed like any other corporation.
They should lose any federally-backed scholarships, if they exist.
Harvard should be fined repeatedly for breaking the law. Fined on each and every infraction. They are not above the law, in this case, civil rights law.
Donors should receive no tax benefit for contributing to Harvard’s funds.
They are an outlaw institution that hates America and supports anything and everything that makes this nation weaker.
We should explore the possibility of establishing a special import tariff on foreign students’ payments to the outlaw school. Let’s reimagine how we educate the rest of the world. What Harvard currently espouses is not beneficial to our country.
America needs much better alternatives than Harvard and its piss-poor ilk.
Hillsdale is a start. We need hundreds more with similar goals, principles and conservative-minded educators.
Trump can make that happen. Give the best students in our country — the cream of the crop — viable options to the morass of lefty loser colleges that now populate our academic landscape. We need much better choices.
I guess I really don’t care for Harvard too much. Claudine Gay pretty much sealed the deal for me. Worst performance of an Ivy League DEI plagiarist puppet in the history of such things. The good news is that her tenure as president at Harvard was one of the shortest ever.
I have never understood why folks continue to send kids to Harvard so they can pay the outrageous fees.
My suggestion for the past few years is that Harvard grant tuition and fee free education to all students until the $50+ billion endowment is significantly reduced.
Now, if Harvard won’t do this, I suggest that their endowment be taxed as ordinary income……
Well said, Craig.
Well said !
Harvard has a lot fingers in the Moslim antisemitic money pie. It doesn’t need usa dollars.
Remember the left hates, lies, and kills.
Once that is understood, everything else is easy.
It’s bewildering why people habitually use “Cadillac” as a simile for that which they consider first-in-class though years and even decades after the comparison ceased to be true. “The college for those like you who choose to go first class all the way. Best of all….it’s a Harvard degree.” Uh huh.
I doubt that the Harvard staff and professors would have the grit and common sense to run a Hillsdale-like outfit.
Thanks Victor! If Harvard followed the Hillsdale model of self-reliance and autonomy, it would jeopardize its firm grasp on hypocrisy and therefor alienate itself from the democratic party.
Victor, I was unaware of your name until years ago I took the Hillsdale class on Athens and Sparta. You taught the Athens segment. As a visitor and past resident of Greece, I have been listening and watching ever since. Larry Arn is also a Churchill scholar if I am not mistaken. Thank you Hillsdale for making so much contant free to those of us way too old to go back into the classroom.
“Harvard is a private university with a largely untaxed endowment of over $50.2 billion.”
That’s more money than many if not most nations! Next move: these college/university endowments should no longer be “untaxed”.
Didn’t Harvard accept money from Jeffery Epstein? If this is so, this tells you everything, you need to know.