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Three days after a federal judge struck down the Trump administration’s decision to cancel more than $2.7 billion in federal research funding, roughly 80 Harvard students, professors, and supporters rallied to celebrate the court victory — and to urge the University to avoid a settlement with the administration.

The hourlong demonstration — organized by Harvard Students for Freedom, an unrecognized student organization established in the spring — was the first since students returned to campus. It drew a substantially smaller crowd than the more than 300 who attended the group’s last rally in May, which took place shortly after the Department of Homeland Security revoked Harvard’s authorization to host international students.

Speakers at Saturday’s protest pressed Harvard administrators not to follow in the footsteps of peer schools like Brown University and Columbia University, which struck deals with the White House over the summer and made major concessions to restore their federal funding.

“Donald Trump, you cannot meddle; Harvard, we will never settle,” attendees chanted.

Kirsten A. Weld, a History professor and president of the Harvard chapter of the American Association of University Professors, said in a speech that United States District Judge Allison D. Burroughs’ Wednesday ruling restoring federal funding proves to Harvard administrators that the best way forward is “not to capitulate, but to fight.”

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She said that the ruling will continue to protect Harvard’s funding — and that the AAUP, which scored a win against the funding cuts alongside Harvard on Wednesday, will continue to fight in court even if Harvard drops its litigation.

“If the government wants to vacate Judge Burroughs’ ruling, it has to defeat that ruling on appeal before another set of judges,” she said. “It cannot simply bully Harvard into dropping its litigation, because if it does — even if the University abandons its own lawsuit — the entire judicial order blocking the government’s illegal actions will remain in effect.”

A White House spokesperson confirmed on Wednesday that the government plans to appeal Burroughs’ decision, but no appeal had yet been filed as of Saturday evening.

Harvard and the White House have been in talks since June. The parties were developing a framework in August for an out-of-court agreement that would have required the University to pay $500 million to educational and workforce programs in exchange for restored federal funding. But The New York Times reported Saturday morning that talks had stalled in recent days.

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Speakers took a hard line against a potential settlement on Saturday.

“We will not accept political control disguised as a settlement,” said Alfred F.B. Williamson ’28, an international student from Wales. “Yes, Harvard will suffer, faculty will suffer, and international students like myself will suffer, but I did not cross an ocean to watch Harvard kneel to Trump. I’d rather be forced out of this country than to see Harvard make a deal with this administration.”

Abdullah Shahid Sial ’27, co-president of the Harvard Undergraduate Association, said that a deal would undo the message Harvard initially sent by opposing a long list of demands from the administration to gain greater control over the University.

“Any form of deal legitimizes exactly the same undemocratic demands which Harvard so proudly stood against,” Sial said. “Especially when we are winning in courts, we can’t have an institution kiss the ring, not now and absolutely not in the future.”

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Like at past Students for Freedom protests, the crowd balanced praise for Harvard’s vocal defense of its independence with criticism of changes that attendees saw as concessions to the White House.

Speakers on Saturday reprimanded Harvard for enacting several changes to diversity programming that mirrored demands from the Trump administration. In July, the College announced it would close its three diversity offices — the Women’s Center, Office for BGLTQ Student Life, and Harvard Foundation for Intercultural and Race Relations — and fold their staff into a revamped “Harvard Foundation” under the new Office of Culture and Community.

Eli Johnson-Visio ’26, co-president of the Harvard Queer Students Association, said that students are skeptical that Harvard’s decision to close the offices was not a direct result of pressure from the Trump administration. He also expressed concern over Harvard’s ability to support students of all identities moving forward.

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“We’re not just fighting against the loss of offices, programs, resources or classes. We’re fighting for the preservation of the campus we were all promised when we came here — a campus where every student, no matter their background or identity, retains the resources to thrive that were present during our first years,” Visio said.

“We’re all fighting against the sterilization of diversity and the rebranding of offices that claim to now be able to better support us, but have yet to actually do so,” he added.

Spokespeople for the College and University did not respond to a request for comment.

Harvard will also close the spaces in Canaday and Thayer Hall where the College’s Women’s Center and Office for BGLTQ Student Life had operated for more than a decade.

Olivia F. Data ’26, a former intern at the Women’s Center, said in a speech that “many of the students here today may never have gotten to know a version of Harvard that celebrated its students’ identities.”

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The protest began as clouds rolled in over Harvard Square, and around 40 minutes into the event, the skies opened. Data delivered her speech as rain lashed down and the crowd huddled under umbrellas.

“I struggle to find anything divisive in being one of the only spaces on campus to offer free and color printing to students, or in giving funding to student groups to support artistic, athletic and community based programming, or allowing students of all identities to attend our campus spaces and to use our office, or in creating a space where students who might be used to feeling alone and powerless can join together and know that they are supported and believed in,” Data said.

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

—Staff writer Cam N. Srivastava can be reached at cam.srivastava@thecrimson.com. Follow him on X @camsrivastava.