Rapid Reaction: Trump v. Harvard
Five Quick Thoughts on the International Student Ban
Just writing some rapid reactions tonight to the recent news that the Trump administration has halted Harvard’s ability to enroll international students. Below is the viral Tweet from DHS, for those who have not seen it:
A few quick thoughts:
It is hard to overstate how devastating this move is for our country’s top research university. In a given year, Harvard has about 7000 international students on campus—roughly 25% of its total student population. Unless some agreement is reached, all of these students will be kicked out. There is a cruelty to this in just the sheer number of lives that are disrupted. And even if this measure is somehow overturned, the long-term damage to the perception of American science has been done. International students are already thinking twice about pursuing graduate degrees in this country. This sort of action will accelerate that trend and erode our scientific competitiveness.
I do think elite American universities need to continue to do more to demonstrate their value to the American people, to foster upward social mobility, to protect diversity of thought, to rethink their relationships with foreign money, and to show gratitude for the investments they receive. It is sad to me that so many Americans are relishing the destruction of our preeminent research institutions, which have taken centuries to build and have made incredible scientific discoveries that benefit us all. But when so many are suffering economically, it is understandable that people are asking questions about why Harvard is getting federal money at all, and why is it giving spots to foreign students. So there’s room for honest critique of elite institutions like Harvard. But this is not that. Trump’s moves are coercion, meant to punish dissent, instill fear, and consolidate power.
Harvard does have a history of doing strange things with respect to China and the CCP. See this story for a recent example. And they tend to be cozier with the CCP elite than other institutions— Xi Jinping’s daughter used to go there. But in this instance I think the CCP stuff is just pretext to bring Harvard down, part of the broader war on universities. The measures taken against Harvard are wildly disproportionate to whatever offenses it may have committed.
To me it is no coincidence that this move comes on the back the recent “big, beautiful bill” that includes significant cuts to Medicaid. The Harvard story will play to the Republican base and distract from the fact that the GOP is actively anti-poor. Here’s a snapshot from the FOX website, which as of tonight had no mention of Medicaid other than this political cartoon.
According to the media, Harvard plans to fight this measure as well, which is just one salvo in the protracted battle between the university and the administration. Here’s a link to a nice backgrounder on this from the NYT. My hunch is that this particular tactic will be used beyond Harvard quite soon, as Trump/Vance would like nothing more than to bring other universities to heel, and international student visas might be the key that unlocks that. We’ve also learned that this is not an administration that negotiates in good faith, so efforts to appease will only be met with further humiliation.
Ok going to bed. Hope this helps, and thanks as always for reading and supporting my writing.
Rory
I believe the Republican budget passed by the House also includes a 21% tax on University endowments, as well. This is a full out assault on US universities with a focus on the Ivies.