Harvard University’s defiance against the Trump administration has prompted support among faculty and staff, who showed their support at a campus rally on Thursday.
More than a hundred people holding signs and American flags gathered outside Harvard’s Memorial Church. The crowd chanted, “for all of us, for all of us!” Half a dozen speakers applauded the school for being the first major university to push back on President Donald Trump’s demands.
This week, Harvard president Alan Garber announced the university would not comply with a variety of ultimatums from the administration. The White House responded by threatening to strip Harvard’s tax-exempt status and its ability to enroll foreign students.
Harvard Kennedy School’s Archon Fung, who directs the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation, helped organize Thursday’s rally.
“Bring the community together to celebrate what I think a lot of people at Harvard University, whether they’re faculty, students, or staff, regard as a very positive development,” Fung said.
Fung said he doesn’t feel intimidated by the federal government’s response, but is anxious about what lies ahead.
“I think that I and everyone else on this campus is in for a great amount of pain because of the power of the federal government. I have no illusions about that,” he said. “But I do know that many colleagues — especially colleagues who are earlier on in their career — and many students, especially international students, do feel a great chill on what they can say, whether they can come to events like this.”
Leo Gerdén, a Swedish international student studying economics and government, came to the rally to show his solidarity.
“At first I was very anxious about speaking up,” he said. “All the international students basically that I’ve talked to say that they are scared about speaking because of what is happening to students across this country. Hundreds of visas have been revoked.”
Gerdén felt the gravity of the situation after he saw the video of Tufts international student Rümeysa Öztürk being taken into custody in nearby Somerville.
“That was also what urged me to speak, because self-silencing I think is the most dangerous response to authoritarianism,” he said. “I think that all international students right now are thinking about their future plans. Should I keep studying in the U.S.? Should I already now go abroad?”
“It’s an attempt at intimidation,” said Arthur Applbaum, a professor of democratic values. “I don’t think Harvard will get through the next three or four years without tightening its belt, without cutting back. But this is something that is worth assuming a burden for.”
Gerdén, who graduates this year, is deeply concerned about the overall impact this will have on the fabric of Harvard’s community.
“This country is going to lose so much talent as a consequence” he said. “Harvard is an international community. And without the international community, there is no Harvard.”
The Department of Homeland Security has set an end of month deadline for Harvard to hand over information about “illegal and violent” activities by student visa holders, or else lose its ability to enroll international students.
