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Academic Freedom Cannot Belong to One Party
When the government starts telling schools what to teach and who is allowed to speak, it is time to stop pretending this is normal.
Pressure from the federal government against Harvard in early 2025 should not be brushed off as politics as usual.
It is not a one-time dispute between a university and an administration. It is part of a larger pattern that is already reshaping public institutions to serve a political agenda.
Harvard refused to hand over control of its hiring decisions, curriculum, and student organizations. In response, the government froze more than two billion dollars in federal funding and threatened to strip the school of its nonprofit status.
These actions were not taken to protect students or improve education. They were taken to punish the school for refusing to fall in line.
According to Wall Street Journal reporting, the administration also began targeting international students, linking their visa status to behavior on campus and demanding that universities act as informants. There is no…
