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Harvard's response to federal government letter demanding changes

harvard.edu

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Re: Harvard's response to federal government letter demanding changes

#941

Post by UncleMeat »

nailer wrote: post #667
kweingar wrote: post #224

The aggregate demands of the administration are confusing and contradictory. They seem to be simultaneously asking for: - an end to diversity initiatives - a new diversity initiative for diverse points of view - a new policy of not admitting international students with certain points of view - ending speech-control policies - auditing the speech of certain departments and programs - ending discipline of students who…

[flagged]

Weird how many people with "diverging viewpoints" are getting grabbed off the street by masked ICE agents then.

Re: Harvard's response to federal government letter demanding changes

#942

Post by stevenwoo »

searealist wrote: post #912
stevenwoo wrote: post #895

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Some of those international students with their visas revoked apparently only had traffic violations according to what I read in the Texas Tribune. They are going after any level of law breaking in order to match their stated goal of kicking out criminals, since they are having trouble reaching the numbers promised in campaign speeches.

> only had traffic violations according to what I read in the Texas Tribune I don't think that is true. Do you have any examples?

I misremembered - it was in the source for a sentence in the Texas Tribune article six days ago: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/educatio...

Those are just the ones where they think they have an answer about why. ICE just refused to respond to requests for specifics otherwise.

The article: https://www.texastribune.org/2025/04/09/texas-universities-i...

Re: Harvard's response to federal government letter demanding changes

#943

Post by searealist »

stevenwoo wrote: post #942
searealist wrote: post #912

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> only had traffic violations according to what I read in the Texas Tribune I don't think that is true. Do you have any examples?

I misremembered - it was in the source for a sentence in the Texas Tribune article six days ago: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/educatio... Those are just the ones where they think they have an answer about why. ICE just refused to respond to requests for specifics otherwise. The article: https://www.texastribune.org/2025/04/09/texas-universities-i...

From what I can tell, it all boils down to one of two things:

- Criminal activity

- Support of Hamas

Re: Harvard's response to federal government letter demanding changes

#944

Post by amy214 »

dspillett wrote: post #796
kweingar wrote: post #224

The aggregate demands of the administration are confusing and contradictory. They seem to be simultaneously asking for: - an end to diversity initiatives - a new diversity initiative for diverse points of view - a new policy of not admitting international students with certain points of view - ending speech-control policies - auditing the speech of certain departments and programs - ending discipline of students who…

It is easier to understand their thinking when you combine each pair of demands: what they want is reversals, they've just split each into two steps because they think that will be more palatable. It makes it easier to sell to their own base certainly, because they can concentrate on whichever half has the most emotive effect in any given speech, and easier for their base to parrot: they just repeat the half they wan…

the main thing is that it's acceptable, meritorious even, to resent the privileged white male. But a jewish white male, that's racist. Also most white males in the ivies are jewish - the so-called privileged (non-jewish) white male is in fact underrepresented now vs. the general population.

Re: Harvard's response to federal government letter demanding changes

#945

Post by brigandish »

yongjik wrote: post #924
brigandish wrote: post #795

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> then they turn around and defund universities Harvard was one of the universities "screw[ing] over poor, hard-working Asian students", so I'm not sure the criticism holds, especially when the government's letter is asking for merit based admissions reform. Are there other universities that weren't discriminating against Asians that the government has or has moved to defund?

Bruh, have you been sleeping under the rock throughout the whole Trump-defunding-NIH saga.

If I had been, how would I understand your comment?

“Bruh”

Re: Harvard's response to federal government letter demanding changes

#946

Post by OhioMan2943 »

bhouston wrote: post #854
OhioMan2943 wrote: post #723

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Believing that something is inevitable is the first step towards it becoming inevitable. But there feels like there is a momentum in people, and in society as a whole that only ends one way, and we need to release and explore. I don't know if once society gets the "bug" to tear it all down there's any going back. I feel like we're destroying our societies and getting into wars out of curiosity, and because we've forg…

> Believing that something is inevitable is the first step towards it becoming inevitable. But there feels like there is a momentum in people, and in society as a whole that only ends one way, and we need to release and explore. I don't know if once society gets the "bug" to tear it all down there's any going back. > I feel like we're destroying our societies and getting into wars out of curiosity, and because we've…

Cultural ouroboros. Eventually we become so distant from our past selves culturally that we identify once normal, helpful, natural things as foreign. I'm seeing this with the new wave of mental illness in my generation.

Re: Harvard's response to federal government letter demanding changes

#947

Post by stevenwoo »

searealist wrote: post #943
stevenwoo wrote: post #942

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I misremembered - it was in the source for a sentence in the Texas Tribune article six days ago: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/educatio... Those are just the ones where they think they have an answer about why. ICE just refused to respond to requests for specifics otherwise. The article: https://www.texastribune.org/2025/04/09/texas-universities-i...

From what I can tell, it all boils down to one of two things: - Criminal activity - Support of Hamas

I’ve only seen one person expelled for support of Hamas with evidence - the doctor who went to a funeral in Lebanon of the Hamas leader assassinated in past year. The administration was super proud of that one. Show me evidence of anyone else that has any association with Israel/Palestine conflict protests that actually support Hamas. It does not have to be an either or proposition - one can be against Israel killing civilians and against Hamas. And for other arbitrary decisions there’s several examples of people expelled for gang activity who simply had tattoos.

Re: Harvard's response to federal government letter demanding changes

#948

Post by soundnote »

adfm wrote: post #699
robocat wrote: post #257

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Republicans Are Floating Plans To Raise the Endowment Tax. Here’s What You Need To Know : https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2025/2/11/increasing-endo... Proposed College Endowment Tax Hike: What to Know : https://thecollegeinvestor.com/52851/proposed-college-endowm... College endowments are typically tax-exempt, but a 2017 law imposed a 1.4% tax on investment income for a small group of wealthy private universities.…

No skin in the game, but curious to know why any Republican would want to raise taxes. Is this some sort of power play like the tariffs? Feels like they’re ghost riding the economy for the lulz.

Easy, Harvard is essentially a training center for their ideological enemies on top of providing an actual education. They're just putting the boot down and saying stick to teaching instead of implementing and advancing a specific ideology. If taxes are the tools, so be it.

Re: Harvard's response to federal government letter demanding changes

#949

Post by grotsnot »

allturtles wrote: post #340
jiriknesl wrote: post #285

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The demands are simple and not confusing at all. - Stop promoting Democrats' agendas as the ultimate truth; stop bullying people for non-Democratic views - Allow Republicans' agendas to be equally represented Is it really so difficult to understand? Out of many bad things Trump has done, this isn't really bad for anyone except core Democrats voters. The US academia has become hostile to anyone except one particular c…

Conservatives should start their own universities, if they aren't happy with the existing ones. The federal government has no business enforcing conformity to certain ideological demands in private institutions. It's right there in the very first amendment.

So the existing ones don't need government money, then, right?

Re: Harvard's response to federal government letter demanding changes

#950

Post by fuzztester »

fransje26 wrote: post #813
dspillett wrote: post #796

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is easier to understand their thinking when you combine each pair of demands: what they want is reversals, they've just split each into two steps because they think that will be more palatable. It makes it easier to sell to their own base certainly, because they can concentrate on whichever half has the most emotive effect in any given speech, and easier for their base to parrot: they just repeat the half they wan…

Actually, as Winston well knew, it was only four years since Oceania had been at war with Eastasia and in alliance with Eurasia. But that was merely a piece of furtive knowledge which he happened to possess because his memory was not satisfactorily under control. Officially the change of partners had never happened. Oceania was at war with Eurasia: therefore Oceania had always been at war with Eurasia. [..] The frigh…

The quotes seem to be from the famous book "1984" by George Orwell. We had it in English literature class in high school.

There are some other famous quotes from that book or one of his other famous books, "Animal Farm".

Writing from memory and googling, so may be wrong:

"Some people are more equal than others."

The society that Winston finds himself in puts forth the slogan, "War is peace, freedom is slavery, and ignorance is strength." The meaning of this phrase is to force confusion upon the members of the Party. It is a form of propaganda, or misleading information typically given by a political party.

According to the article, the original version with "2 + 2 = 5" suggests complete submission to the oppressive regime, with the protagonist's mind being irreversibly altered.

Technically part of the Ministry of Love, Room 101 is the most feared place in all of Oceania and Winston learns far too well that it is here that the …

What is the final message of 1984? … a warning about the dangers of totalitarianism and the ability of a repressive regime to manipulate and control individuals to the point where they betray ...

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nineteen_Eighty-Four

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal_Farm

Animal Farm is even more creepy than 1984, going by my memory, which may be wrong, since it is quite some years since I read both those books.

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