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{shortcode-0e095a567411e002f3aac31c91c1937973465885}t was only after Mary P. Stone ’77 graduated that she understood the power of the Harvard name.

A first-generation college student from Brooklyn, New York, Stone came to Harvard in 1973 to pursue a degree in government. But when she left Harvard’s gates, she realized her diploma symbolized more than just an education — it was a valuable form of social, and professional, currency.

Stone said her Harvard affiliation helped her land a broadcast journalism job in Jacksonville, Florida. There, she said people “were almost taken aback” when she mentioned her alma mater.

“I would never have gotten to where I went in life without that Harvard fire under me,” Stone said.

Many Harvard graduates have a similar story. For generations, the Harvard name has been synonymous with excellence. As the “gold standard for education,” Aaron M. Shirley ’23 said the name turns the heads of strangers and employers alike.

“Harvard is a home name — a name that you would talk about in your living room,” Shirley said. “Most people are like, ‘Wow, I’ve never met someone who went to Harvard.’”

But in recent years, Harvard’s once unshakable reputation — and the inherent value that comes with its name — has been threatened as the University has found itself at the center of contentious political debates. Harvard’s response to pro-Palestine student activism garnered national outrage in 2023, cascading into an all-out public relations crisis.

Now, Harvard’s ongoing legal battles with the Trump administration have once again thrust it into the spotlight — but this time, as the face of higher education’s fight against the White House. As Harvard has taken center-stage in the political controversies of the past two years, The Crimson spoke with graduates, students, and University critics about what the future might hold for one of Harvard’s most valuable assets — its name.

‘Criticized On The National Stage’

For many undergraduates, the University’s shifting public image has become a source of concern, confusion, and even disillusionment. What once felt like a powerful credential is now a potential liability in a politically polarized climate.

“Before coming into Harvard, people were saying, ‘Oh, yeah, Harvard — that can get you anywhere,’” said Mandy Zhang ’27. “During the first year, whenever someone would be like, ‘Oh, where you guys from? What school you guys go to?’ I would shout out ‘Harvard!’”

But Zhang, a former Crimson News editor and co-president of the Harvard College Democrats, said the past two years have made her less inclined to disclose her alma mater.

The president of the United States called Harvard a “threat to Democracy” in a fiery social media post last month. Trump and his supporters have labeled the University an “Anti-Semitic, Far Left Institution” in their ongoing tirade against higher education.

“The place is a Liberal mess, allowing a certain group of crazed lunatics to enter and exit the classroom and spew fake ANGER AND HATE,” Trump wrote in a social media post.

While Harvard did not respond to Trump’s characterization, the administration has worked against allegations of antisemitism — adopting new regulations and commissioning a task-force to address short-comings in campus bias policy.

It’s not the first time Harvard has been thrust into the political spotlight, nor is it the first time the President has targeted the University by name. But as national figures take aim at Harvard with increasing frequency, Zhang said she believes Harvard’s name has morphed into a potential liability, rather than an asset.

“I feel like everyone just sees Harvard students as really negative now,” she said. “The whole situation just is kind of difficult because we’re just getting criticized on the national stage, and a lot of it doesn’t even have to do with us.”

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Zhang is not alone in worrying about how her University’s public image reflects back on her.

Since October 2023, Harvard has faced a complex and rapidly evolving legitimacy crisis. What began as backlash to the University’s response to various elements of student activism in the wake of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attacks on Israel quickly snowballed into national outrage.

Within months, Harvard was under Congressional investigation. Then-Harvard President Claudine Gay was called before the House Committee on Education and the Workforce in December to defend the University’s handling of antisemitism — particularly as it surfaced in campus protests.

Gay’s disastrous testimony sparked fiery backlash that rippled throughout the nation. In the following weeks, top law firms ended their recruitment programs at Harvard and rescinded job offers to students who signed statements critical of Israel — in some cases, even when the students had distanced themselves from the comments in question.

As public opinion turned against Harvard, students said they were frustrated by outsider’s interpretations of campus dynamics.

For students like Kya I. Brooks ’25, the shift in public attitude toward Harvard has not just been frustrating — it has felt like a fundamental misunderstanding of what the University stands for.

“As a student I want to be part of an institution that is recognized for its role in the public interest, in research, and in being an educational institution with integrity and strong values,” Brooks said. “I wouldn’t want the mission of Harvard to be misunderstood.”

“I naturally care a lot about my school,” Brooks added. “The future of it, and protecting its mission, and just the history of Harvard since it’s been around almost 400 years.”

‘Do You Plagiarize, Too?’

As national figures take aim at Harvard with increasing frequency, the weight of the scrutiny is not only borne by administrators in Massachusetts Hall. As the University’s reputation soured, students said the Harvard name carried a new social stigma — despite retaining its previous academic credentials.

Rachel E. Zhou ’24, who works as a psychiatric technician, said the media’s hyperfixation on Harvard has made discussing where they went to college “really awkward.”

“It’s weird that you’re reading things about your alma mater on the front page of The New York Times,” Zhou said. “Their dirty laundry is just being aired out for everybody.”

And it was not just with strangers — Zhou said Harvard’s negative press permeated discussions even within their own family.

“Before my senior year, they had never questioned the name of the University — never questioned its ethos,” they said.

But things changed after the outbreak of protests on campus began attracting waves of bad press. Zhou said disagreements between family members about the University’s response prompted infighting that strained their relationships with relatives.

Zhou is not the only one who saw digs at the University’s name follow them home. Emma N. Barnes ’25 said that after Gay’s resignation amid allegations of plagiarism, she got “some weird comments” while in her Virginia hometown.

“There was one time I was home picking up curbside delivery groceries for my parents, and the guy delivering them commented on our Harvard magnet,” Barnes said. “He was like, ‘Oh, do you plagiarize too?’”

Beyond the social stigma newly associated with a Harvard affiliation, the Trump administration has also tried to discredit the University’s academics. In her letter to Harvard President Alan M. Garber ’76, Secretary of Education Linda McMahon took aim at the University’s academic requirements, writing that “Harvard has failed” to live up to its reputation of scholarly excellence.

Despite federal attacks, students and alumni report that the academic prestige of a Harvard degree has not waned.

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“When I got to the final interview for my job, one of the people who was interviewing me saw that I had Harvard on my resume, and was like, ‘Oh, I think you’d be a great fit. Seems like you went to a good school,’” Zhou said. “And it was no more than a 10 minute final round interview.”

Even in academia, having a Harvard affiliation still speaks for itself.

“I definitely think that the Harvard name makes medical schools more confident in me as a candidate,” Subul Ahmad ’25, an incoming student at the Mayo Clinic School of Medicine, said. “I do get the impression that they think that I can handle the rigor and also bring a diverse, valuable perspective.”

Deborah A. “Deb” Carroll, the executive director of Harvard’s Mignone Center for Career Success confirmed students’ first-hand experiences.

“There was considerable employer activity on campus this past year, including a robust calendar of career fairs spanning many industries and sectors,” Carroll wrote in a statement. “Harvard alumni continue to look to Harvard graduates as strong candidates for their open positions.”

Even as the Trump administration threatens Harvard’s research and scholarship — pulling nearly $3 billion of the University’s funding — affiliates remain cautiously optimistic that Harvard will emerge from the fray unscathed.

“I definitely am sitting in anticipation, like I think most folks are, to see where Harvard stands after the dust settles,” Shirley said.

‘The Lightning Rod’

As Harvard gears up for a prolonged battle with the White House, alumni said the University is pushing beyond the criticism it faced over the past two years — and that its name remains strong.

Representative Glenn F. Ivey (D-M.D.), who attended Harvard Law School, said the University’s choice to confront Trump has helped to rehabilitate its public image.

“Harvard’s become the lightning rod that’s drawing the ire of the Trump administration,” Ivey said.

“The rest of these schools need to step up, too,” he added. “The only way to turn it around is to stand together.”

In the hours following Garber’s decision to reject a sweeping list of demands from the Trump administration, donations to the University exceeded $1 million — a sign of swelling public support for Harvard’s defensive position.

Students said they are also noticing the increase in support, and are becoming more eager to tout their alma mater than they have in the past two years.

“I would say that prior to this, it’s been a bit more conservative,” Shirley said of his tendency to mention his Harvard affiliation. “Now, I definitely welcome any chance to discuss what’s going on, because I’m proud of the University and the administration.”

Even conservative critics believe that after the chaos, the Harvard name will remain powerful. Representative Kevin P. Kiley ’07 (R-C.A.) has publicly lambasted Harvard as being “hypocritical” for expecting federal funding after what he saw as “massive civil rights violations.” But even amid these critiques, Kiley said Harvard’s reputation will weather the storm.

“It’s an image that has been built up for so long, and it’s a brand that’s so strong, it’s a reputation that’s so strong that not all of that will be lost overnight — no matter how just extreme and alarming the problems that we’re seeing right now are,” he said.

Gregory J. “Greg” Stone ’75, a communications consultant, said that while many conservative lawmakers critique the Ivy League, their own affiliation with the elite universities speaks to their lasting institutional power.

“Among the people who hate Harvard for whatever reason, underneath it all, they still respect it,” he said.

As the University tries to move forward into a new moment for its public image — protecting its legacy while embracing its central position in the fight against higher education — students said they feel a commitment to the cause.

“There is a growing awareness that the Harvard name comes with responsibility,” Felipe M. Albors ’25 said. “People are asking themselves the question of, how do I use this platform we're given to actually contribute something meaningful?”

—Staff writer Hugo C. Chiasson can be reached at hugo.chiasson@thecrimson.com. Follow him on X @HugoChiassonn.

—Staff writer Samuel A. Church can be reached at samuel.church@thecrimson.com. Follow him on X @samuelachurch.