By: Jalen Bogues

What happens when society’s highest-ranking intellectuals are in a battle with its own government? The very law and government that they study and that some of the students have devoted their lives to learn about is attacking their institutions to try and get rid of the DEI policies. This is what is happening with some of the top schools in the country such as Harvard and Columbia, against the Trump administration. 

This all started in January 2025 when President Trump signed three executive orders that rolled back federal government Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion(DEI) policies. People were outraged because these very policies protected them from discrimination in their workplace and in the hiring space as well. Due to colleges being funded by the government, this theoretically includes them within that executive order, meaning they also had to roll back their DEI policies as well. Some colleges followed suit, while others disputed that the government can’t do that. Universities such as Columbia, Penn, and Brown were all fighting until around March of 2025 when the Trump Administration threatened to freeze federal funding from schools that did not fall in line and roll back their DEI policies. Columbia, for example, agreed to a very large settlement where they agreed to pay 220 million to have their federal funding restored. 

Harvard, on the other hand, is deciding to fight back against the attack on their school policies and curriculum. Suing the Trump administration for freezing federal funds, stating that it is unconstitutional and violates the First Amendment. “I absolutely see a problem with it.” says third year Harvard student Thomas Batties- “Harvard is a private institution that is supposed to be able to choose how they admit students based on their own rules. The school also does a lot of important research and work that is being dialed back because Trump has cut all federal funding from the school.” Harvard follows that lawsuit up with another one because Homeland Security threatens to take away the university’s Student and Exchange Visitor Program, meaning that international students may be forced to go back home and might not be able to come back to the school. “This dispute has put many international students on edge, as many of them are concerned about leaving the country and not knowing if they’ll be able to return,” said Thomas Batties. The Trump administration has seen setbacks on both ends, as both attempts to “ attack” Harvard had been blocked by the courts. 
This is still very much an ongoing battle as just on Tuesday the Faculty of Arts and Sciences Dean Hopi E. Hoekstra announced that the FAS will admit Ph.D. students “at significantly reduced levels” this year in an effort to curb University spending. Thomas Batties says “ there have yet to be any noticeable changes”, but with the way the battle has been looking, who knows what’s next?

Picture Credit: Thomas Batties