President Trump\u2019s administration said it will freeze about $2.2 billion in multiyear grants and $60 million in multiyear contracts to Harvard University after the Ivy League institution rejected the government\u2019s demands earlier Monday.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“Harvard\u2019s statement today reinforces the troubling entitlement mindset that is endemic in our nation’s most prestigious universities and colleges \u2013 that federal investment does not come with the responsibility to uphold civil rights laws,\u201d the Joint Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism said in a statement Monday evening<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n The response from the administration came just hours after Harvard\u2019s leadership said it would not comply with the demands from the federal government, including instituting changes around protesting and diversity, equity and inclusion efforts in order to keep funding.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cNo government \u2014 regardless of which party is in power \u2014 should dictate what private universities can teach, whom they can admit and hire, and which areas of study and inquiry they can pursue,\u201d Harvard University President Alan Garber said Monday<\/a>.<\/p>\n He said the school is already working on several initiatives to fight antisemitism and it will continue to do so in the future, but the administration\u2019s requests are a step too far. <\/p>\n Combating antisemitism \u201cwill not be achieved by assertions of power, unmoored from the law, to control teaching and learning at Harvard and to dictate how we operate. The work of addressing our shortcomings, fulfilling our commitments, and embodying our values is ours to define and undertake as a community,\u201d added Garber, who took over Harvard’s top spot after Claudine Gay resigned amid fallout from the antisemitism allegations.\u00a0<\/p>\n Last week, the federal government asked the Ivy League school to also reform its admission and hiring practices, make leadership changes, probe departments for antisemitism and ban face masks, among other demands, in order to keep the funding. <\/p>\n \u201cThe disruption of learning that has plagued campuses in recent years is unacceptable,\u201d the task force said Friday evening. \u201cThe harassment of Jewish students is intolerable. It is time for elite universities to take the problem seriously and commit to meaningful change if they wish to continue receiving taxpayer support.\u201d <\/p>\n