Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Trump: We want to feed the people in Gaza, we do not want them to starve.
US President Donald Trump: We will impose sanctions on Russia if it does not end the war on Ukraine.
Israeli media: Polls show that 52% oppose Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu while only 29% support him.
Israeli media: 32% of Americans still support "Israel's" war on Hamas, while 60% oppose it.
Israeli media: Core US support for "Israel" hits its lowest, while support for Palestine reaches its highest levels.
Al Mayadeen's correspondent reports martyrs, injuries in Israeli bombardment of home in Heker al-Jame area in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza.
Al-Quds Governorate: Today, the spatial division of Al-Aqsa Mosque began in a public and dangerous manner, and we warn of a religious war in the region
The Ministry of Health in Gaza: This brings the total number of victims of famine and malnutrition to 175, including 93 children
The Ministry of Health in Gaza: Gaza's hospitals recorded six deaths due to starvation and malnutrition in the past 24 hours, all of them adults
Informed sources to Al Mayadeen: A new chapter in relations between Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency will begin within the framework of the new law passed by Parliament

Obama backs Harvard as Yale faculty support standing up to Trump

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: News websites
  • 16 Apr 2025 10:43
6 Min Read

Barack Obama defends Harvard after the Trump administration freezes $2.2 billion in grants and $60 million in contracts with the university.

Listen
  • x
  • A student protester stands in front of the statue of John Harvard, draped in the Palestinian flag, Harvard University, Massachusetts, April 25, 2024 (AP/Ben Curtis)A student protester stands in front of the statue of John Harvard, draped in the Palestinian flag, Harvard University, Massachusetts, April 25, 2024 (AP)

Barack Obama has voiced his support for Harvard University following the Trump administration's decision to slash $2 billion in federal funding. The funding cut came after Harvard pushed back against what it described as an attempt by the government to interfere in the university’s internal affairs.

At the same time, faculty members at Yale University called on their administration to stand firm “to resist and legally challenge any unlawful demands that threaten academic freedom and … self-governance”.

Obama, who served as president from 2009 to 2017, praised Harvard’s stance, saying the university has shown leadership by standing up to an overreaching effort to suppress academic freedom. 

Harvard has set an example for other higher-ed institutions – rejecting an unlawful and ham-handed attempt to stifle academic freedom, while taking concrete steps to make sure all students at Harvard can benefit from an environment of intellectual inquiry, rigorous debate and… https://t.co/gAu9UUqgjF

— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) April 15, 2025

“Let’s hope other institutions follow suit”, the former US President said.

Tensions escalated late Monday between top US universities and the federal government after Harvard pushed back against heightened demands from the Trump administration. While the administration claims these measures aim to address antisemitism on campuses, many in the academic community view them as a disguised attempt to restrict broader academic freedoms.

“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,” Harvard’s president, Alan Garber, said.

The Trump administration, acting through a multi-federal agency task force aimed at addressing antisemitism on campus, froze $2.2 billion in multi-year grants and $60 million in multi-year contract funding allocated to Harvard.

Universities follow suit

Obama's reactionary statement came after 876 Yale faculty members published a letter to their leadership.

“We stand together at a crossroads,” the letter read. “American universities are facing extraordinary attacks that threaten the bedrock principles of a democratic society, including rights of free expression, association, and academic freedom. We write as one faculty, to ask you to stand with us now.”

Related News

Iraq’s PMF law seen as test of sovereignty amid US objections

Notorious Palantir lands record $10bln contract with the US Army

The letter nods to Harvard's similar predicament, asking Yale’s leadership to “work purposefully and proactively with other colleges and universities in collective defense”.

Unlike Harvard, Columbia University in New York agreed to partially comply with a set of demands from the Trump administration concerning how it will manage campus protests, academic departments, and antisemitism. This decision came after the university was warned it could lose federal funding. However, Columbia also defended the importance of academic freedom in its response.

Princeton University in New Jersey, on the other hand, said it has not received a specific list of demands from the government. In an email to the university community earlier in April, President Christopher Eisgruber stated that although the reasoning behind the administration’s threat to pull funding is still unclear, the university “will comply with the law.”

“We are committed to fighting antisemitism and all forms of discrimination, and we will cooperate with the government in combating antisemitism,” Eisgruber added. “Princeton will also vigorously defend academic freedom and the due process rights of this university.”

“The Trump administration is using the threat of funding cuts as a tactic to force universities to yield to government control over research, teaching, and speech on private campuses. It is flagrantly unlawful,” said a statement from Rachel Goodman, counsel with Protect Democracy who represents the American Association of University Professors in its challenge to the termination of federal funding at Columbia.

Columbia agreed to a ban on face masks, to bar protests inside academic buildings and to review the administration of Middle East studies programs. It also agreed to expanding “intellectual diversity” by appointing new faculty members to its Institute for Israel and Jewish Studies department.

Crackdown or cover? 

The Trump administration says the main goal of its "antisemitism" task force is to “root out antisemitic harassment in schools and on college campuses.” However, many critics argue that this is being used as a pretext to push a broader conservative agenda, such as removing racial considerations in college admissions and challenging what the administration views as a strong liberal influence in higher education.

This week, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump “wants to see Harvard apologize” for what she described as “the egregious antisemitism that took place on their college campus.” She added, “When it comes to Harvard … the president has been quite clear: they must follow federal law.”

On Tuesday, Trump published a post on his Truth Social platform saying, “Perhaps Harvard should lose its Tax Exempt Status and be Taxed as a Political Entity”.

Leo Terrell, who leads the task force and is a former Fox News commentator, took an even harder line in March, saying, “We’re going to bankrupt these universities” if they refuse to “play ball.”

So far, the administration has frozen or canceled more than $11 billion in funding across at least seven universities, as part of what it calls an effort to end “ideological capture.” Additionally, around 300 students, recent graduates, and postdoctoral researchers have had their visas or immigration statuses revoked in connection with the crackdown.

On Monday, MIT President Sally Kornbluth revealed that nine of the university’s students had their visas revoked in the past week. She warned that these actions could discourage top international talent from coming to the US, ultimately harming the country’s long-term competitiveness and leadership in science and research.

Meanwhile, Education Secretary Linda McMahon told the Wall Street Journal that the federal government has the authority to request changes to university policies when institutions receive federal funding. “If you’re taking federal funds, then we want to make sure that you’re abiding by federal law,” she said. McMahon pushed back on claims that the administration is trying to limit academic freedom or the right to protest peacefully.

  • United States
  • Yale University
  • Donald Trump
  • Harvard University
  • funding cuts
  • Barack Obama

Most Read

A rescued crew member from the ETERNITY C vessel in a video released by the Yemeni Armed Forces on July 28, 2025 (Yemeni Military Media)

Yemen Navy reveals fate of targeted Eternity C ship crew

  • Politics
  • 28 Jul 2025
An Israeli tank explodes following an ambush by al-Qassam Brigades in Gaza, Occupied Palestine, undated (Al-Qassam Military Media)

Al-Qassam strikes Israeli vehicles in Gaza, inflicts casualties

  • Politics
  • 30 Jul 2025
UAE lodges complaint against Israeli ambassador over 'misbehavior'

UAE lodges complaint against Israeli ambassador over 'misbehavior'

  • Politics
  • 1 Aug 2025
Protesters chant anti-Israeli slogans as they carry a banner that reads:" Freedom for Palestine, Alliance stop the war," during a demonstration in support of Palestinians in Gaza, outside the Israeli embassy, in Athens, Monday, June 9, 2025 (AP)

Athens mayor slams Israeli ambassador over Gaza war, graffiti claim

  • Politics
  • 3 Aug 2025

Coverage

All
The Ummah's Martyrs

Read Next

All
A member of the al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, takes part in a parade as he celebrates a ceasefire agreement between Hamas and the Israeli regime in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, Sunday, January 19, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Al-Qassam: We’ll allow aid to Israeli captives if Gaza siege ends

Freed Lebanese freedom fighter Georges Abdallah during an interview on Al Mayadeen, which aired on Sunday, August 3, 2025 (Al Mayadeen screengrab)
Politics

Exclusive: Resistance key to building state, Georges Abdallah says

United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres gives a statement about the situation in Gaza at UN headquarters, Friday, June 27, 2025 (AP)
Politics

UN warns Gaza faces water crisis, looming famine under Israeli siege

Israeli soldiers drive their armored personnel carrier along the Gaza Strip, in southern occupied Palestine, Wednesday, July 30, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Ex-Israeli general says Gaza starvation campaign isolated 'Israel'

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS