PNN – The presidents of more than 100 universities, colleges, and academic institutions in the United States issued a joint statement expressing their opposition to the way the Donald Trump administration treats higher education institutions in the country.
According to the report of Pakistan News Network, Reuters wrote: This joint stance by academic and scientific groups in the United States was taken following Harvard University’s criticism of the Trump administration for threatening the university’s independence.
The statement, signed by the presidents of Princeton, Brown, the University of Hawaii and Connecticut State College, criticizes what it describes as “unprecedented government aggression and political interference that has jeopardized higher education in America.”
The statement said: We welcome constructive reforms and have no objection to legitimate government oversight, but we must oppose indiscriminate government interference in the lives of those who learn, live, and work at our universities.
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Reuters wrote: The joint statement released on Tuesday is the latest show of resistance by higher education officials in the United States to the Trump administration’s efforts to use financial leverage to influence higher education policy.
Harvard University on April 14 rejected the Trump administration’s numerous demands for oversight of its student body, faculty and curriculum, a move the administration has made in an effort to curb what it sees as the university’s liberal biases.
Following the university’s refusal to yield to the US government’s demands, Trump announced that he would cut $2.3 billion in federal funding for the university.
At the same time as the US government’s threat, a White House spokesman claimed that Trump wanted to assure American taxpayers that he did not support racial discrimination or violent acts motivated by radicalism at the university.
The Trump administration also threatened Harvard University with revoking its tax exemption and undermining its ability to enroll foreign students.
Harvard University is suing the government to prevent billions of dollars in federal funding from being frozen and to preserve its freedom. The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Boston, says Trump has launched a sweeping attack on advanced research funding at major American universities as he seeks to root out anti-Semitism and ideological bigotry on campus.