Harvard decides to fight against fascism after seeing what happened to Columbia University, which tried to appease Trump and is now being told it must make more concessions.
Harvard has decided to fight back against Trump and his fascist attempts to stifle free speech and academic freedom at American universities under the pretext of protecting students from antisemitism. The federal government told Harvard it would hold back billions of dollars in grants if it did not submit to demands that include ending all DEI programs, limiting the rights of students to assemble and protest, allowing government interference in academic programs and personnel decisions, and submitting to regular federal audits to confirm compliance.
This comes at an unprecedented time when student visas are being revoked and international students are being deported because of peaceful speech Trump officials have decided promotes "antisemitism" or is otherwise unacceptable.
Harvard's decision to fight contrasts greatly with Columbia University's decision in March to appease similar Trump demands, which has backfired on Columbia (it didn't even get its money back). Trump is now trying to force Columbia into a consent decree that would legally force the university to abide by the concessions it has already agreed to and more. As a result, Columbia could very well become an extension of Trump's dangerous fascist agenda.
By opposing Trump's demands, Harvard has effectively denied the government the ability to turn small concessions into larger ones, which is the way fascism spreads like the cancer it is. The main question now is whether Harvard is committed to resisting fascism for the duration and willing to permanently lose billions of dollars in federal funding. Trump and his brand of fascism are not going away in the near future and he will undoubtedly try to bully Harvard using any means possible to gain compliance.