‘GUN TO THE HEAD’

Harvard Professors Fight Back Against Trump’s Threats to Pull Funding

A group of Harvard professors claims the Trump administration is undermining “academic freedom and free speech” on university campuses.

A group of Harvard University professors sued the Trump administration Friday over threats to cut billions of dollars of federal funding to the institution, calling the ultimatum a “gun to the head” for the university. Harvard’s chapter of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) accused the administration of violating their right to free speech, as well as other First Amendment rights. The suit read: “This action challenges the Trump administration’s unlawful and unprecedented misuse of federal funding and civil rights enforcement authority to undermine academic freedom and free speech on a university campus.” Andrew Manuel Crespo, a Harvard law professor and the general counsel of AAUP’s Harvard chapter, said in a statement that “Harvard faculty have the constitutional right to speak, teach and conduct research without fearing that the government will retaliate against their viewpoints by canceling grants.” The AAUP is seeking a temporary restraining order to stop the administration from withdrawing Harvard’s funds. The administration previously sent a letter to the university claiming they had “fundamentally failed to protect American students and faculty from antisemitic violence.” This is in accordance with Trump’s executive order to combat antisemitism on college campuses, which has opened up probes into 60 schools, including elite institutions such as Columbia University.