The US Department of Education sent a letter to Harvard University on Monday, saying they will stop giving billions of dollars in future funding. This means Harvard will not get money for research and other important projects from the government, at least for now.
Why did this happen? The Trump administration says Harvard needs to make some big changes before it can get any more money. Here are the things they want Harvard to fix:
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Antisemitism on campus: The government says there is a problem with antisemitism (discrimination against Jewish people) at Harvard, especially during protests about Israel and Palestine.
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Racial policies: The government says Harvard’s rules about race are a problem, and they want the school to change them.
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Not enough conservative professors: The Trump administration says that Harvard needs more conservative (right-wing) professors and that the school is not doing enough to promote “academic excellence.”
The letter from Linda McMahon, the head of the Department of Education, told Harvard that it should not ask for any more government grants (money given for research or projects). If the university doesn’t follow the government’s requests, they won’t get any future funding.
Harvard’s response was strong. The school said the government is trying to control them in ways that are wrong and unfair. They also said that stopping funding for important research could harm the country by stopping important work that helps students, doctors, and scientists.
This situation started because of protests at Harvard that were pro-Palestinian. After the October 2023 attacks on Israel by a group called Hamas, some people at Harvard protested Israel’s actions, and the Trump administration said some of the protesters were being antisemitic (against Jewish people) and supporting Hamas.
But the protesters and some Jewish groups disagree. They say they are not being antisemitic—they just want to speak out about the situation in Gaza and support Palestinian rights.
In recent weeks, the Trump administration also looked into about $9 billion in government funding for Harvard and made more demands, like asking the school to stop certain programs for diversity and inclusion (trying to make everyone feel welcome no matter their race or background).
Harvard has a huge amount of money—$53 billion—but most of that money is already set aside for things like financial aid to help students pay for school. The university says the government’s actions could harm its students, staff, and researchers.
