University Protests Condemn Trumpโ€™s Policies on Funding and Speech

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    University campuses across the United States became the stage for protests on Thursday, orchestrated by professors and students rallying against what they perceive as significant challenges facing higher education. These challenges include drastic funding reductions, the deportation of international students, and the curtailing of free speech surrounding the conflict in Gaza.
    Protests were notably held at prestigious institutions such as Harvard, responding to the Trump administrationโ€™s decision to freeze $2.2 billion in grants and contracts and threats to revoke the universityโ€™s capacity to host international students.

    Among the protesters was Rochelle Sun, a graduate scholar from Harvardโ€™s Department of Government, who emphasized the importance of international students in achieving the universityโ€™s mission of advancing โ€œthe boundaries of human knowledge.โ€ Sun argued that without the presence of these students, the scope to reach her academic objectives at Harvard would diminish.
    During the protests in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Sun brandished a sign proclaiming, โ€œI should be writing my dissertation, but I keep having to fight this stupid fascism.โ€

    Meanwhile, Nancy Krieger, a social epidemiology professor at Harvardโ€™s School of Public Health, criticized the financial cuts impeding critical medical research and public health initiatives, underlining the need for continued academic funding to train future public health leaders. She highlighted the termination of her grant from the National Institutes of Health, which funded research on health discriminationโ€”an area unlikely to receive financial backing from corporate or philanthropic entities.

    In recent times, federal targeting of higher education institutions has been perceived as a tactic by the government to influence universities to align with the political goals expressed by the Trump administration. This move represents an unprecedented approach to controlling the narratives and actions on college campuses.
    Public scrutiny intensified particularly in universities where Palestinian demonstrations surged, especially during the Gaza conflict. Some Ivy League officials were called upon to address Congressional inquiries regarding allegations of antisemitism.

    The administrationโ€™s stance extended towards international students and scholars who aligned with pro-Palestinian sentiments, leading to visa revocations and deportations. This abrupt enforcement has left many international students fearful and uncertain of their residency status, as described by Ronald Cox, a professor of international relations at Florida International University.
    Cox expressed concerns about the lack of due process for these students, depicting it as an โ€œopen season on the most vulnerable students.โ€

    In a notable incident, Harvard openly resisted the Trump administrationโ€™s demand for constricted activism on campus, marking the university as a forerunner in this defiance. The university alleged that these demands threatened its autonomy, a principle held in high regard by the U.S. Supreme Court for academic institutions.

    Simultaneously, at the University of California-Berkeley, a larger protest, featuring about 450 attendees, witnessed ex-Labor Secretary Robert Reich speaking against conceding to the Trumpโ€™s administrationโ€™s demands. Reich asserted that appeasing a tyrant, as tried by Columbia University, was ineffective.

    Columbia Universityโ€™s initial attempt to comply with the Trump administration resulted in significant unrest, prompting a shift in its stance. This led to a protest comprising 150 demonstrators rallying against the administrationโ€™s pressures, evidenced by slogans like โ€œstop the war on universitiesโ€ and โ€œcensorship is the weapon of fascists.โ€

    The rallies were spearheaded by the Coalition for Action in Higher Education, backed by organizations such as Higher Education Labor United and the American Federation of Teachers. Kelly Benjamin, speaking for the American Association of University Professors, condemned the Trump administrationโ€™s actions as fundamentally anti-American, advocating the traditional role of college campuses as arenas for vigorous debate and dissent, integral to a healthy democracy.