Editorials
Harvard Faculty Did the Right Thing. The University Should Too.
With this lawsuit, they’ve laid out a blueprint for resisting Trump’s assault on the academy. Now, it’s time for the University — alongside other institutions — to follow it.
Harvard Opened Its Wallet. Now It Must Open Its Doors.
In the face of potential significant funding cuts in Harvard’s future, the University’s move to expand aid demonstrates a commitment to ensuring top talent, once admitted, can attend. That said, increasing financial aid for students does not solve Harvard’s underlying lack of socioeconomic diversity.
Obedience Didn’t Protect Columbia From Trump’s Attack on Higher Ed
So rather than scrambling to appease a federal administration that treats academic independence as a threat, Harvard must do what’s best for its students.
The Hiring Freeze Is a Decent Defense. But It Won’t Save the Academy.
Each revoked NIH grant, each funding threat, each regulatory assault weakens not just the elite institutions, but all universities, research hospitals, and the entire ecosystem of American innovation.
Abolishing Pass-Fail Won’t Fix Gen Eds
So if the FAS wants students to be more academically engaged in Gen Eds and beyond, there are better places to start — like stronger attendance requirements, no-laptop policies, and designating a broader range of courses to fulfill the Gen Ed requirement.
The Ed Department Is Coming For Diversity
The threat to inclusivity is more real than ever — and DEI is far from the only thing in danger.
Dissent: On Tyrannical Middle Eastern Regimes, the Editorial Board Wavers
Harvard has taken millions of dollars from countries with reprehensible human rights records, including Bangladesh, Qatar, and others. Does the Board truly believe Qatar sends Harvard money simply because of a benevolent urge to support academia and research in Cambridge?
Worried About Foreign Influence? Start With Trump, Not Harvard
As lawmakers obsess over Harvard’s finances, they have largely ignored the far more direct — and troubling — examples of foreign influence at the highest levels of government.
The Ad Board Needs a New Addition
Including students in the Ad Board is not just about representation — it’s about creating a disciplinary system that is better informed, more transparent, and ultimately more trusted by those it governs.
Harvard Calls Cambridge Home. Its Payments Should Show It.
As Harvard renegotiates the terms of its PILOT agreement, we urge the administration to remember how much we benefit from our community. After all, Harvard students are also Cambridge residents — the University should act like it.
Dissent: If Moderate Conservatives Are Quiet, It’s Not for Lack of Space
This isn’t to say that our campus speech culture is perfect, but the distinction here is important: Whether students want to participate politically is a completely different issue from whether they are free to do so.
Some Conservatives Have Gotten Louder. We Think Most Stay Quiet.
For those of you who find yourselves somewhere in between the far-right and the left, we urge you to come to the table of discourse to help fix Harvard’s broken speech culture. Talk to your friends, your classmates, and those with whom you disagree.
To Improve Classroom Conversations, Train Our TFs.
TFs are indispensable to the academic work of our University. The least Harvard can do is equip them with the guidance they need to do it well.
Trump Can’t Order Away Ideas
With one brash red herring after another, the Trump administration is using the platform of the federal government to wage a culture war. It won’t win.
It’s Our Turn To Save Harvard’s Speech Culture
Rather than backlash from professors or the University itself, social consequences appear to be the root of students’ self-censorship. If students are the problem, they must also be the solution.
