Thursday of last week was declared a National Day of Action for Higher Education in response to the Trump administration’s alleged “all-out war on higher education” after it froze $2.2 billion in grants and $60 million in federal contracts with Harvard University.
The White House Joint Task Force to Combat Antisemitism announced its decision to cut funding because of Harvard’s refusal to comply with the administration’s policy reform demands, including that it end the targeting of Jewish students.
Harvard President Alan Garber replied in a written statement that “the administration’s prescription … threatens our values as a private institution devoted to the pursuit, production, and dissemination of knowledge.”
Garber added, “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.”
While the administration and Harvard butt heads over the funding cuts, one obvious question would be why shouldn’t the White House make demands on a university that accepts federal funding?
Harvard’s position is not unlike that of a spoiled boy throwing a tantrum and yelling, “I’m a free person, not a slave! So I won’t do the dishes, take out the trash, mow the lawn during the summer or shovel snow during the winter! Now give me my allowance!”
Note that Harvard’s president used the word “private” twice in his statement, suggesting that the larger issue would be: Why are U.S. taxpayers on the hook to fund what is, and always has been, a private university?
Hillsdale College is another private institution of higher learning. It’s a small, Christian, classical liberal arts college in southern Michigan that has a famous reputation for refusing government funding.
Hillsdale couldn’t help but notice the whining coming out of Cambridge, Mass., so it offered a helpful suggestion.
“There is another way,” Hillsdale suggested. “Refuse taxpayer money.”
“And BOOM,” replied Sam Janney, Twitchy Managing Editor. “So much BOOM. All. The. BOOM.”
Hillsdale’s three little words — “refuse taxpayer money” — solved Harvard’s self-imposed dilemma with elegant simplicity.
Harvard is now saying that it’s not quite that simple. Researchers at the Ivy League school claim that they’ll be forced to lay off lab personnel and euthanize research animals.
Even CNN is calling them out on this, because Harvard really doesn’t need any federal grants in order to operate. It already has the largest endowment fund of any university in the United States, totaling $53.2 billion, according to public records.
What does the loss of $2.2 billion matter when it already has more than $50 billion?
And Harvard isn’t turning out to be a very good research partner either.
The Daily Mail reported last week that Harvard Medical School’s former morgue manager has agreed to plead guilty to stealing human body parts, including heads, brains and bones, in order to sell them.
The Babylon Bee, a popular satirical “news” site with the motto “Fake News You Can Trust,” couldn’t help but poke a little fun at Harvard and its apparent approval of antisemitism on campus.
One headline noted the recent attempt by a Hamas supporter to murder Pennsylvania’s Jewish governor: “Harvard Awards Honorary Degree To Man Who Firebombed Governor Shapiro’s House.”
Another referenced Nazi Germany’s “Final Solution” to its Jewish population, which was the Holocaust: “Harvard Warns Loss Of Federal Funding Will Cripple Their Ability To Find A Final Solution To The Jewish Problem.”
But Harvard’s “Final Solution” is as simple as what Hillsdale suggests: “refuse taxpayer money.” And while we’re at it, the United States should end federal grants to all private colleges and universities.
Treat everyone equally. If no one gets any federal funds, that should make everyone happy, right?
Besides, the United States already throws too much money around to places where it’s not needed.
Michael Dorstewitz is a retired lawyer and is a frequent contributor to Newsmax. He’s also a former U.S. Merchant Marine officer and a Second Amendment supporter. Read Michael Dorstewitz’s Reports — More Here.
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